Madden 17 goes out on no limbs, picks Patriots in close Super Bowl LI sim

And in the venerable style of clickbait headlines from a few years back, you won’t believe who the video game picked as Super Bowl MVP!

Madden 17 has spoken. And what it says is that Atlanta Falcons fans and the not inconsiderable number of people rooting against the New England Patriots are going to be disappointed come Sunday night.

EA released the details of its official Madden 17 simulation of Super Bowl LI, and it predicts a close game that will ultimately go to the favorite. The game expects the Falcons to hold tantalizing leads at the half, the end of the third quarter and even at one point in the fourth, but feels Tom Brady will lead the Patriots to a 27-24 victory.

Indeed, it could be the most unbearable kind of loss for the Falcons if the game plays out the way Madden 17 sees it. With the Patriots down 24-20 following a Matt Ryan to Mohamed Sanu TD pass, Brady is able to lead his offense down the field with less than four minutes to play.

Although challenged by a 4th-and-4 situation with 20 seconds left, Brady finds Julian Edelman for the game-winning score. Oh, and he wins MVP honors for going 30-for-39 for 305 yards with three TDs and no picks.

Ryan has a good game as well, completing 24 of 36 passes for 287 yards and two scores with one INT. Atlanta RBs Devonta Freeman and Tevin Coleman, seen by many as potential x-factors, both find paydirt, but Madden 17 likes New England’s ability to limit the damage caused by Julio Jones, as the sim ends with the wideout catching seven passes for 89 yards — and a big chunk of them on one long catch.

You can watch highlights of the official sim here:

EA mentioned that the last time Brady and company had a chance at a ring, its football title did a pretty nice job predicting what would take place:

"The Madden NFL Super Bowl prediction is one of the most well-known in the world, and was particularly spot-on when the Patriots last played in the Super Bowl. The 2015 prediction not only correctly forecasted the final score, but also accurately called that New England would overcome a 10-point 3rd quarter deficit and came within three yards of accurately forecasting Julian Edelman’s final receiving yardage total."

It’s also worth noting that the Madden 17 sim run by our gaming site, App Trigger, picked the Pats by three as well, albeit in an even lower scoring affair.

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That should be some consolation for neutral fans who simply want a tight, competitive contest, but for all the Pats haters out there, your disappointment is apparently in the game.