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Sorry Antonio Gates, ‘Madden 25’ says you’re done for the year this Sunday

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nfl week 2 madden preview and predictions 25 drew brees
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This week and every week for the remainder of the NFL season, we will bring you weekly game predictions courtesy of EA Sports’ Madden NFL 25. Our methodology: Each week we will update the rosters using the game’s roster download feature to make sure the game lineups reflect the real teams, then we’ll simulate the week’s match-ups using the Franchise Owner mode.  We’ll record the simulation’s scores, its best players of the week, and the injury reports, then post these results each Saturday. This makes the Thursday game something of a litmus test (Madden 25 is 2-0 so far this season on Thursday games) – you can use this info for fantasy or gambling purposes. Or you can ignore it entirely. What does Madden know about football, anyway?

In week 2 Madden 25 doesn’t pick on a particular team, but it does foresee a bad week for tight ends.

In terms of winners and losers, 
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Madden 25 picked 11 games correctly out of 16 in Week 1. The margin of victory was occasionally off (for example, it predicted a 3-point win for the Chiefs over the Jaguars; the actual game was a blow out), but an 11 and 5 record speaks for itself.
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In terms of injuries, last week the game predicted doom for the Vikings, with both the quarterback Christian Ponder and the tight end Kyle Randolph out for multiple weeks (both survived unscathed – except maybe for Ponder, who sucked bad enough to make us wonder). Conversely, the game had Jacksonville QB Blaine Gabbert leaving the game early and Chad Henne moving into the starting job. Following a poor showing and an injury to his hand in real life, Gabbert is indeed out at least one week and Henne will start Week 2. 

In Week 2, Madden 25 doesn’t pick on a particular team, but it does foresee a bad week for tight ends – especially Antonio Gates, who Madden 25 claims is done for the year. 

Week 2 League Leaders:

Quarterbacks

Drew Brees: 319 passing yards, 3 TD 1 INT
Peyton Manning: 305 passing yards, 3 TD
Cam Newton: 256 passing yards, 2 TD 1 INT, 44 rushing yards
Aaron Rodgers: 256 passing yards, 2 TD
Colin Kaepernick: 270 passing yards, 2 TD, 28 rushing yards

Wide Receivers

Calvin Johnson: 178 receiving yards, 0 TD
AJ Green: 138 Receiving Yards, 2 TD
Julian Edelman: 122 Receiving Yards, 2 TD
Demaryius Thomas: 118 receiving yards, 1 TD
Randall Cobb: 109 receiving yards, 1 TD

Running Backs

Adrian Peterson: 178 rushing yards, 2 TD
LeSean McCoy: 145 rushing yards, 2D
Matt Forte: 128 rushing yards, 1 TD
Jamal Charles: 105 rushing yards, 1 TD
Ray Rice: 85 rushing yards, 2 TD

Injuries

Antonio Gates: TE, Out for season, torn ACL and MCL
Dallas Clark: TE, 4 weeks, dislocated elbow
Darren McFadden: HB, 5 weeks, hamstring tear
Mike Williams: WR, 4 weeks, pulled groin

Week 2 Game Results

Thursday Night Game

Madden Result   Actual Result  
New England – 27 New York Jets – 10 New England – 13 New York Jets – 10

Sunday Games

Madden Result   Actual Result  
Washington – 21 Green Bay – 17 Washington – 20 Green Bay – 38
Baltimore – 28 Cleveland – 16  Baltimore – 14 Cleveland – 6
St. Louis – 24 Atlanta – 20 St. Louis – 24 Atlanta – 31
Philadelphia – 38 San Diego – 21  Philadelphia – 30 San Diego – 33
Minnesota – 34 Chicago – 31 Minnesota – 30 Chicago – 31
Carolina – 28 Buffalo – 14 Carolina – 23 Buffalo – 24
Houston – 14 Tennessee – 10  Houston – 30 Tennessee – 24
Miami – 17 Indianapolis – 14 Miami – 24 Indianapolis – 20
Kansas City – 28 Dallas – 24  Kansas City – 17 Dallas – 16
New Orleans – 41 Tampa Bay – 34 New Orleans – 16 Tampa Bay – 14
Detroit – 31 Arizona – 28 Detroit – 21 Arizona – 25
Denver – 38 New York Giants – 28 Denver – 41 New York Giants – 23
Oakland – 10  Jacksonville – 7 Oakland – 19 Jacksonville – 9
San Francisco – 23 Seattle – 20 San Francisco – 3 Seattle – 29

Monday Night Games

Madden Result   Actual Result  
Pittsburgh – 20 Cincinnati – 17 Pittsburgh – 10  Cincinnati – 20

Week 2 results: 8-8

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Ryan Fleming
Ryan Fleming
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Ryan Fleming is the Gaming and Cinema Editor for Digital Trends. He joined the DT staff in 2009 after spending time covering…
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