Super Bowl 52 (or is it Super Bowl LII?) is upon us, which means another year of media hype, hilarious commercials, halftime show mishaps, and of course the annual Madden NFL Prediction. Oh, and there is a football game, too. The annual tradition of EA Sports picking a Super Bowl winner began back in 2004, to coincide with Super Bowl XXXVIII. So far, they have gone 10 out of 14, a record that any sports fan would be proud of. They even picked the EXACT score for Super Bowl 2014.
This year, the Madden NFL Prediction has the New England Patriots beating the Philadelphia Eagles 24-20 in the big game. Take a look at EA’s simulation of it in this snazzy video package.
Currently, the Vegas oddsmakers are picking Patriots, which lines up nicely with the Madden pick.
Madden NFL Prediction Winner & Score: Pats 24-20
Vegas Odds: New England -4 1/2
Actual Winner & Score: TBD
Here’s a quick recap of previous Super Bowl results to see how the Madden NFL prediction stacks up against the oddsmakers in Vegas and the actual score. Is Madden more accurate than the folks in Vegas, whose job it is to predict big games? Let’s use a completely non-scientific analysis to take a look.
Super Bowl XXXVIII
New England Patriots vs. Carolina Panthers
- Madden NFL Prediction Winner & Score: Patriots 23-20
- Vegas Oddsmaker Winner & Score: Patriots 22-15
- Actual Winner & Score: Patriots 32-29
Result: Madden had the edge here, matching the point differential (spread) of the actual game.
Super Bowl XXXIX
New England Patriots vs. Philadelphia Eagles
- Madden NFL Prediction Winner & Score: Patriots 47-31
- Vegas Oddsmaker Winner & Score: Patriots 27-20
- Actual Winner & Score: Patriots 24-21
Result: Vegas was the better predictor of both the spread and the overall score combined score (over/under).
Super Bowl XL
Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Seattle Seahawks
- Madden NFL Prediction Winner & Score: Steelers 24-19
- Vegas Oddsmaker Winner & Score: Steelers 26-22
- Actual Winner & Score: Steelers 21-10
Result: Madden is closer on picking the spread, but both had the over/under higher than the actual game.
Super Bowl XLI
Indianapolis Colts vs. Chicago Bears
- Madden NFL Prediction Winner & Score: Colts 38-27
- Vegas Oddsmaker Winner & Score: Colts 27-20
- Actual Winner & Score: Colts 29-17
Result: Tie — Madden was more accurate with the spread, but Vegas had the more accurate over/under.
Super Bowl XLII
New England Patriots vs. New York Giants
- Madden NFL Prediction Winner & Score: Patriots 38-30
- Vegas Oddsmaker Winner & Score: Patriots 34-22
- Actual Winner & Score: Giants 17-14
Result: Tie — Neither did a great job of predicting the spread or the over/under.
Super Bowl XLIII
Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Arizona Cardinals
- Madden NFL Prediction Winner & Score: Steelers 28-24
- Vegas Oddsmaker Winner & Score: Steelers 27-20
- Actual Winner & Score: Steelers 27-23
Result: Madden was the more accurate predictor of both the spread and over/under.
Super Bowl XLIV
New Orleans Saints vs. Indianapolis Colts
- Madden NFL Prediction Winner & Score: Saints 35-31
- Vegas Oddsmaker Winner & Score: Colts 31-26
- Actual Winner & Score: Saints 31-17
Result: Madden gets it by picking the underdog for the win.
Super Bowl XLV
Green Bay Packers vs. Pittsburgh Steelers
- Madden NFL Prediction Winner & Score: Steelers 24-20
- Vegas Oddsmaker Winner & Score: Packers 24-21
- Actual Winner & Score: Packers 31-25
Result: Vegas gets it by picking the favorite Packers for the win.
Super Bowl XLVI
New York Giants vs. New England Patriots
- Madden NFL Prediction Winner & Score: Giants 27-24
- Vegas Oddsmaker Winner & Score: Patriots 27-25
- Actual Winner & Score: Giants 21-17
Result: Madden accurately predicted the Giants win.
Super Bowl XLVII
Baltimore Ravens vs. San Francisco 49ers
- Madden NFL Prediction Winner & Score: Ravens 27-24
- Vegas Oddsmaker Winner & Score: 49ers 26-22
- Actual Winner & Score: Ravens 34-31
Result: Madden accurately picked the Ravens to win over the 49ers.
Super Bowl XLVIII
Seattle Seahawks vs. Denver Broncos
- Madden NFL Prediction Winner & Score: Broncos 31-28
- Vegas Oddsmaker Winner & Score: Broncos 25-23
- Actual Winner & Score: Seahawks 43-8
Result: Tie – Neither could foresee how badly the Broncos were going to match up against the Seahawks.
Super Bowl XLIX
New England Patriots vs. Seattle Seahawks
- Madden NFL Prediction Winner & Score: Patriots 28-24
- Vegas Oddsmaker Winner & Score: Pick ’em 24-23
- Actual Winner & Score: Patriots 28-24
Result: Madden nailed it by picking the winner and the exact score of the game.
Super Bowl L
Carolina Panthers vs. Denver Broncos
- Madden NFL Prediction Winner & Score: Panthers 24-20
- Vegas Oddsmaker Winner & Score: Panthers 25-20
- Actual Winner & Score: Broncos 24-10
Result: Madden and Vegas missed this one by a lot, with Broncos shocking everyone.
Super Bowl LI
New England Patriots vs. Atlanta Falcons
- Madden NFL Prediction Winner & Score: Patriots 27-14
- Actual Winner & Score: Patriots 34-28
Result: No one could’ve predicted the Patriots would score 25 unanswered points in a stunning come-from-behind victory.
Conclusion
Counting wins and ties as one point each, Madden takes it 11-6, confirming its standing as the most accurate simulation of professional football around.
Thanks go to VegasInsider.com for the Vegas oddsmaker predictions.