Boom! Madden predicts Chiefs Super Bowl victory, and history says they’ll probably be right

For 17 years, EA Sports has simulated the Super Bowl, beginning in Madden 2004 — featuring the infamous Michael Vick and his 95 speed on the cover — in which the New England Patriots defeated the Carolina Panthers 32-29. Though Madden has only nailed the exact score in one instance — the Patriots slithering by the Seattle Seahawks 28-24 in Super Bowl XLIX — they’ve accurately predicted the winner 11 of the 17 times, or 64.7 percent clip.

For Super Bowl LV in a few days, Kansas City Chiefs won the official Madden Super Bowl simulation, beating down the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 37-27. Patrick Mahomes threw for 422 yards and four touchdowns while completing 75.6 percent of his passes. Tom Brady also had a healthy statistical output, accounting for 322 passing yards, three touchdowns, one pick, and a completion percentage of 68.2.

Below is a statistical accumulation of how Madden has fared in their predictions year-by-year. Worth noting that they were as good as 10-of-14 a few years ago.

Though Madden’s only had one bullseye prediction, they’ve correctly predicted the margin of victory three other occasions and have been very close on four other occasions, not including two more in losses. It’s not to say the Madden 8-ball is flawless, but it’s certainly more accurate than a Baker Mayfield pass, a Lonzo Ball free throw, or that fraud Punxsutawney Phil (H/T editor Chris Baud), who is only correct 39 percent of the time.