Patriots Win the (Simulated) Super Bowl, Twice

It sure doesn't look good for the New York football Giants on Sunday, at least according to the Xbox 360 version of Madden '08 and the classic Tecmo Super Bowl for NES.

Simulating the Super Bowl on Madden has become something of a tradition in recent years, and the game has proven surprisingly (some would say depressingly) accurate. Here's a pair of sims to ponder: one using the latest version of the state-of-the-art Madden game, and another on a respected blast from the past. So...who's going to Disney World? 

In our first simulated match-up, Boston Globe staff writer Chris Forsberg pitted the unbeaten New England Patriots against the red-hot Giants on his Xbox 360 using Madden '08. (I'm guessing that he controlled one of the teams himself, since the 360 version of Madden does not—unfortunatley—have a real-time CPU vs. CPU mode.) Anyway, on this given Sunday (or the simulated Sunday, at least), it was all Patriots. The Pats took an early lead and never gave it up, with Tom Brady throwing three TDs in the first half (he ended the day 27 for 35 for 440 yards). Eli Manning had a chance to tie the game before the half, but he was picked off at the goal line by Asante Samuel, and that was pretty much that. Final score: Patriots 34, Giants 14.

Next up: ArmchairGM's simulation using the classic Tecmo Super Bowl, a 1991 8-bit game for the Nintento Entertainment System that's still renowned for its realism. (Blogger Davis21wylie notes that the game accurately predicted both the AFC and NFC championship games.) This time, we got a thriller. The Giants took an early 14-0 lead, with the Patriots struggling to get a touchdown and a field goal by halftime. Great stuff.

But these are the Patriots we're talking about, so naturally, they came roaring back. Eli Manning threw a pick at the end of the third quarter, and while the Patriots went three-and-out on the next possession, the Giants coughed up the ball late in the fourth quarter. The Patriots took the lead—finallly—just before the two-minute warning, and eked out the win. Final score: Patriots 24, Giants 21.

Check out both the Boston Globe and AmrchairGM for videos of the respective games, plus full summaries. Oh, and by the way: while I'll be rooting for the Giants on Sunday, I'm not a Giants fan, per se (the 49'ers are comin' back!); I just really, really hate the Patriots. Hate 'em.

Related:
Pats win Super Bowl XLII ... in Madden NFL 08 [Boston Globe]
Tecmo-izing The Super Bowl [ArmchairGM]