Was Madden's 2023 Super Bowl Prediction Correct?

Some may not know this, but the "Madden NFL" series has been used to predict the outcome of the Super Bowl for years. In fact, EA Sports' iconic football sim has successfully predicted the winner of the NFL's premier game 70% of the time in the past (via Yahoo). This makes the video game's yearly Super Bowl prediction a huge deal for football fans who are seeking insights. This year was no different, as "Madden 23" was used to approximate the outcome of Super Bowl 57's blockbuster matchup between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Kansas City Chiefs.

On the official "Madden" YouTube channel, a video running an in-game simulation of Super Bowl 57 was posted a week ahead of the big game, which predicted the Philadelphia Eagles would run away with the game, defeating the Kansas City Chiefs by a score of 31-17. In the simulation, Chiefs star quarterback Patrick Mahomes played a predictably solid game, completing 29 of 39 passes for 249 yards. However, in the tense simulation, this still wasn't enough to keep the formidable Eagles offense down.

Eagles wide receiver A.J. Brown was also pegged to have a huge game, raking in 8 receptions for 114 yards and a touchdown. While the Chiefs' defensive lineman was expected to be a menace of the defensive end with 4 tackles and 2 sacks, the Jalen Hurts-led Philly was expected to coast to victory. It was a bold prediction, considering Mahomes and the Chiefs have already been to the Super Bowl twice in recent years, and won in their 2020 trip to the Big Game.

But now that the dust has settled, just how accurate was this simulation?

As it turns out, the score predicted by EA's official simulated game was off by a decent margin. This is fairly typical of previous years' sims, even in games where the victor was correctly predicted. In fact, the game ended up being neck-and-neck until the final moments. With just two minutes left on the clock, the two teams found themselves tied at 35 points, and fans everywhere were on the edge of their couches. In the last possible seconds, the Kansas City Chiefs proved the simulation wrong, winning the game with 38 points. Sorry, "Madden!" Maybe next year.

The closeness of the final score was seemingly predicted by another "Madden" simulation earlier in the week, however. For The Win pit the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles against one another over 100 separate "Madden 23" matches, with the end result being that the Chiefs only won 57% of the time. In other words, the two teams were pretty evenly matched throughout the experiment.

Appropriately enough, fans who tuned into the tense game made a number of comparisons to the beloved video game series, with one fan even suggesting that gamers should be able to relive this momentous Super Bowl in virtual form.

Next years Madden needs to have a career mode where you replicate this Super Bowl game. Crazy good.

Eagles play at Chiefs next year as well. This could be opening day if Chiefs win

— You're The Apple of My 👁️ (@Sportzfanatixx) February 13, 2023