Earlier this week, the official Madden NFL 12 simulation of Super Bowl XLVI took both the underdog and the under for the first time in the past nine years, calling the New York Giants as 27-24 winners over the New England Patriots. A simulation run on dearly departed Madden nemesis NFL 2K5 returned the opposite result.
Operation Sports community member VLN13 predicts a 45-31 track meet and New England's fourth Super Bowl title. The simulation used a custom roster file updated to present times, a copy of NFL 2K5 (console not specified) and playing eight-minute quarters. All other settings were unknown.
VLN13 acknowledged the simulation has some problems he can't correct. One is that the teams kick off from the 30 (instead of the 35, a rule implemented this year.) The other is the way in which offensive gameplans have changed dramatically, even in the past eight years. There isn't much of a screen pass game available in NFL 2K5. It also doesn't account for the heavier pass rush encountered today, which places the Giants at an unfair disadvantage.
Still, you dance with who brung ya. In VLN13's sim, New York scored first after picking off Brady, but New England quickly answered. The Giants surged to a 17-7 lead before Brady lobbed a 48-yard bomb to, of all receivers, Julian Edelman, and go into the half down 17-14. The second half was all Patriots, though, and New England won in a rout that was over by the beginning of the fourth quarter.
NFL 2K5 Super Bowl 46 Sim [Operation Sports]