The NFL Playoffs have gotten off to a predictable start coming off the heels of a weak Wild Card weekend that saw every home team win by a combined score of 121-45. One hundred and twenty-one to forty-five! The Oakland Raiders were the highest scoring Wild Card loser, and they only put up 14 points. There was no drama, no upsets, nothing outside of the ordinary, just mediocre football.
Fortunately for the NFL and its fans, the Divisional Round features a slate of really interesting matchups, outside of the New England Patriots vs. the Houston Texans, of course. The Patriots should win that game relatively comfortably, if the regular season is any indication.
Outside of that contest, you’ve got some fascinating matchups across the board. The Steelers and Chiefs are going to destroy each other. We’ll get to find out if the Atlanta Falcons are actually good heading into a very tough matchup with the Seahawks, and if Dak Prescott and Ezekiel Elliot don’t succumb to first-time playoff pressure and find a way to take down the red hot Green Bay Packers, that is going to be one seriously dangerous playoff team moving forward. Intrigue!
For those following the comings and goings here at uproxx dot com, we ran a full Madden 17 simulation of the NFL Playoffs last week. It had a certain level of Madden wackiness to it, but as of this writing, Madden 17 is sitting at 3-1 based off its Wild Card weekend predictions heading into the Divisional Round. In the interest of producing new content and keeping the Madden 17 predictions relevant throughout the playoffs, we’ve decided to run a separate set of predictions for each individual playoff round. For example, our original simulation doesn’t have a prediction for the Texans vs. Patriots matchup because in the Madden 17 universe, the Texans lost to the Raiders last week, and what kind of operation would this be if we didn’t have a Madden 17 prediction for every playoff game?
So without further needless explanation, here’s how Madden 17 is predicting the Divisional Round of the 2017 NFL Playoffs will play out.
AFC Divisional Round
Houston Texans (4) vs. New England Patriots (1)
The Houston Texans looked pretty good against an injured Oakland Raiders team over Wild Card weekend, but the New England Patriots at home is an entirely different beast. Madden 17 is predicting a relatively close 30-20 home win for Tom Brady, Bill Belichick, and the Patriots with a surprisingly dominant performance running the ball. If the Patriots can establish a feared rushing attack, their journey to the Super Bowl might be as easy as some are predicting.
Pittsburgh Steelers (3) vs. Kansas City Chiefs (2)
If Madden 17 is any indication, Sunday afternoon’s matchup between the Steelers and the Chiefs is going to be a good one. Madden 17 has both teams matching each other in nearly every statistical category aside from one field goal pushing the Steelers towards a three-point playoff win on the road. It’s a toss up in real life, and a toss up in virtual life, but Madden 17 is giving the slight edge to Pittsburgh this Sunday. We’ll see.
NFC Divisional Round
Seattle Seahawks (3) vs. Atlanta Falcons (2)
Despite what Madden 17 is predicting as a dominant offensive performance by the Seattle Seahawks in their Divisional Round playoff game against the Falcons, two costly turnovers left the door open for an Atlanta Falcons comeback win at home. Madden 17 thinks this one is going into overtime following an impressive Falcons comeback, which I’m sure all fans outside of Atlanta and Seattle would be very much down for, but will ultimately end with the Seahawks advancing thanks to a Steven Hauschka field goal. That feels totally within the realm of possibility.
Green Bay Packers (4) vs. Dallas Cowboys (1)
The Dallas Cowboys are the most fascinating No. 1 seed in quite some time. Despite how incredibly fun their unexpected dominance this season has been, they’re asking two rookies making their NFL Playoff debut to lead their offense to a win over what might be the NFL’s hottest team in the Green Bay Packers.
If Madden 17 is any indication, Cowboys fans have nothing to worry about. This is supposed to be another close playoff game according to Vegas odds and NFL experts, but Madden 17 is predicting a much different result. Dak Prescott and Ezekiel Elliot pass their first playoff test with flying colors, cruising to a cool 41-17 win over the Packers, and on to the NFC Championship they go!
