Madden 20: Predicting the Divisional round of the NFL Playoffs

It’s time for the Divisional Round of the playoffs after a crazy Wild Card Round saw upsets rule the weekend.

The Minnesota Vikings marched into New Orleans and knocked off the Saints in overtime, with the Saints again falling victim to a questionable officiating call.

That wasn’t even the only OT game of the
weekend, as the Houston Texans roared back from a 16-0 deficit to the Bills to
win in the extra period.

Meanwhile, the Tennessee Titans went to New England and ended the Patriots' season, and potentially their dynasty, and the Seattle Seahawks handled their business against a stubborn Philadelphia Eagles team.

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It wasn’t a great weekend for Madden,
though, as the game stumbled to a 1-3 record on the weekend, with the Seahawks –
Eagles game being the only correct winner. Can it do better in the Divisional
round?

Minnesota Vikings 15 @ 35 San Francisco 49ers

SEASON OVER: The Vikings couldn't produce another upset

Well, according to the game the Vikings are
going to blown out, again. Maybe Vikings fans will like that seeing as it
turned out pretty well last time…

After one quarter it was only 7-3, but the
second quarter got out of hand very quickly and the Vikes never recovered. The
49ers scored three quick touchdowns, one of which was a 35-yard pick-six by
Richard Sherman, and the Vikings could only muster a field goal just before
half time.

The third quarter showed some signs of improvement for the Vikings, in that they managed to shut out the ‘9ers, but they only scored one touchdown and failed a two-point conversion.

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Any hope of a comeback was quickly thwarted in the fourth quarter as the 49ers scored on their first possession while taking up half the quarter with the possession. A Dan Bailey field goal near the end was nothing but a consolation as the Vikings slumped to a disappointing Playoff loss.

Tennessee Titans 34 @ 28 Baltimore Ravens

BIG FAIL: Big Truss obviously couldn't take the Ravens to the promised land

Ravens fans will hope Madden is wrong again, as the game projects the Titans to get the upset and for another game to go to OT.

Through three quarters this game was going
as many may expect. The Ravens were up 21-14 and most would’ve expected them to
coast from there behind a strong defense and run game. Instead, the Titans tied
it up, watched the Ravens go ahead just before the two-minute warning, only to
tie it up again with 50 seconds left.

Then, in OT, he Titans won the toss and marched right down the field to score the game-winning touchdown and book a spot in the AFC Championship game on the arm of Ryan Tannehill, who passed for 341 yards and four touchdowns.

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Houston Texans @ Kansas City Chiefs

HOME FIELD: The Chiefs are looking to make the most of home-field advantage

The Texans OT win in the Wild Card round
was clearly all the magic they had left, as their 2020 season will come to an
end in Kansas City this weekend according to Madden.

Much like the game’s prediction in the
49ers win over the Vikings, the losing team was really never in it. The Chiefs
were up 17 before the Texans even got on the board – though in that time a
Deshaun Watson pass was taken to the endzone, it was just the wrong one.

The Texans finally found the endzone at the end of the first half, but didn’t find it again until the fourth quarter. By which time Chiefs had kicked another field goal and added a touchdown and two-point conversion.

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The Texans were down 28-7 halfway through the fourth quarter and Watson was forced to throw 50 passes, which paints the picture of a dominant Chiefs win.

Seattle Seahawks @ Green Bay Packers

FLASHBACK: The Packers get the job done in this 2014 Playoffs rematch

This is probably one of the hardest games
to predict for any fan or pundit, as both teams are strong and have QBs who
seem to pull off something magical like it’s nothing. Well, Madden has the
Packers coming out on top, just.

A timid first quarter as followed up by a ruthless Packers second quarter performance, scoring two touchdowns and holding the Seahawks to just a field goal. Going into halftime up 17-3 will have had the Packers feeling great, but with Wilson and the Seahawks it’s never over.

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And that is what came to be, as the Seahawks flipped the script in the second half. They scored two touchdowns of their own and held the Packers to just a field goal, but that wasn’t enough as the Seahawks just didn’t manage one more score to tie or win the game.

If these results hold up it sets up a
fascinating Championship round.

In the AFC, the Ryan Tannehill led, 9-7 Tennessee Titans will travel to the 12-4 Kansas City Chiefs looking for their third road playoff win and second win over the Chiefs this season.

In the NFC we’ll have another rematch from the regular season, as the Green Bay Packers will face the San Francisco 49ers looking for the final word after the 49ers waxed them 37-8 in late November.

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