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EA’s Madden NFL 21 Super Bowl 55 simulation predicted that the Kansas City Chiefs would defeat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers by a score of 37-27, with KC taking home their second straight Super Bowl title and Patrick Mahomes earning another Super Bowl MVP ring.
In reality, though? That’s not even close to what happened on the field on Sunday night in Tampa Bay.
In an upset and a scoreline that few would have predicted, the Bucs beat the Chiefs by a score of 31-9 to win the Super Bowl, giving Tom Brady his 7th Super Bowl ring and further cementing his legacy as one of the great quarterbacks of all time.
The Chiefs did not even score a single touchdown in the game, and it was not Mahomes, but Brady, who won the Super Bowl MVP title. Mahomes was predicted by EA’s simulation to throw for 422 yards and four touchdowns, but in reality, he had 270 yards, no touchdowns, and 2 interceptions in the loss.
The simulation said Brady would pass for 332 yards, three touchdowns, and one interception, and in reality he booked 201 yards, three touchdown passes, and no interceptions.
EA’s Madden Super Bowl predictions have a spotty track record of accurately predicting the winner of the big game–with some notable exceptions–so this result is not entirely unexpected.
The smart money this year was on the Chiefs, who were favorites to win the game in most sportsbooks and in the eyes of sporting fans and analysts who follow the game. No one would have thought the Chiefs would score ZERO touchdowns with Mahomes, Travis Kelce, and Tyreek Hill in the lineup, but nothing is ever certain in sports.
For more on EA’s Madden Super Bowl predictions over the years, check out GameSpot’s retrospective piece where we analyze the previous 10 years.
