The Super Bowl is one of the most popular events in American sports, and has been for decades. Acting as the culmination of the NFL season, this year's Super Bowl 56 pits the Los Angeles Rams against the Cincinnati Bengals in what is sure to be an intense game. Where professional betting experts are mostly favoring the LA Rams to win, Madden NFL 22 has a different opinion.
Every year, EA carries out a virtual Super Bowl match in its latest Madden NFL game, then posts the final results for all to see. This year, EA used Madden NFL 22 to predict that the Cincinnati Bengals will win the Super Bowl, beating out the Rams with a final score of 24-21. Obviously, using a video game to predict the Super Bowl score is no real indicator of how the game will go, but it wouldn't be the first time that Madden NFL has gotten it right.
Madden NFL's Super Bowl Prediction Accuracy
Beginning in 2004 with Super Bowl 38, EA's Madden NFL Super Bowl predictions started out with a hot streak of correct predictions. Super Bowl 38 saw the Patriots beating out the Panthers, which Madden predicted. Super Bowl 39 saw the Patriots beat the Eagles, which Madden also predicted. Madden then predicted Super Bowl 40 would have the Steelers beat the Seahawks, and Super Bowl 41 would have the Colts take home the title over the Bears.
Starting with a streak of four correct predictions is pretty impressive, though it should be noted that none of these predictions guessed the correct score. After Super Bowl 41, Madden's track record became more unreliable, with Super Bowl 42 marking the game's first incorrect prediction. Super Bowl 43 and 44 were predicted correctly though, and after a wrong prediction in Super Bowl 45, Madden returned with another two-year streak of correct Super Bowl 46 and 47 predictions.
Super Bowl 49 was a particularly special event for Madden NFL, marking the first time that the game correctly predicted the winning team, as well as the final score of the game. Madden predicted that the Patriots would beat the Seahawks for a final score of 28-24, and it was bang on.
More recently, Madden's had a bit of a losing streak. Despite predicting Super Bowl 54's winner correctly, Madden's Super Bowl 52, 53, and 55 predictions have been incorrect. Though it does still have its moments, Madden NFL's Super Bowl predictions don't seem to be as accurate as they once were, which might be a comforting thought for LA Rams fans.
Overall, Madden NFL's Super Bowl predictions have been correct 11 out of 18 attempts, which comes to about 61.1111 percent. Madden NFL correctly predicting the Super Bowl winner 61 percent of the time isn't too shabby for an annual-release video game.
This year's prediction, that the Cincinnati Bengals is going to beat the LA Rams 24-21, does seem to go against the grain of what most experts believe will happen. They do believe that it's going to be a close match, but seem to mostly lean toward the Rams taking home a trophy on Sunday night. It seems unlikely, but maybe Madden can redeem itself from last year's incorrect prediction. After all, the odds appear to be in its favor.
Madden NFL 22 is available now on PC, PS4, PS5, Stadia, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.