Pats struggle with Tom Brady suspended but still make playoffs in 'Madden' sim
We ran a 'Madden NFL 17' simulation with Jimmy Garoppolo and the Patriots aren't terrible
By
Will Brinson
•
2 min read
For the second season in a row, somehow, we ended up in a position where a "Madden NFL 17" simulation of the Patriots' first four games, which will not featured suspended quarterback Tom Brady, was necessary.
After all, knowing how the popular EA Sports video game treats the Pats with and without Brady is the key to unlocking the secrets of the 2016 NFL season.
But seriously: "Madden" has shown a remarkable proclivity when it comes to be accurate with these things, especially when it comes to the Pats.
For 2016, there's some good news and bad news sprinkled in for Patriots fans. But before we get started, here's your annual reminder that the "Madden" representation of Bill Belichick is the funniest thing going. Old Griffin Murphy, the nerdy scientist turned football coach in his first year at the helm of New England.
First, the bad. New England doesn't do very well with Brady suspended and Jimmy Garoppolo starting. Garoppolo himself wasn't terrible, but the Patriots finished 1-3 during their first four games of the season.
| Week | Opponent | Score | Comp/Att (%) | Yards | TD | INT |
| Week 1 | Cardinals | 31-23 (L) | 22/30 (73.3) | 277 | 2 | 0 |
| Week 2 | Dolphins | 38-6 (W) | 20/24 (83.3) | 254 | 2 | 0 |
| Week 3 | Texans | 36-31 (L) | 28/41 (68.3) | 401 | 3 | 0 |
| Week 4 | Bills | 34-0 (L) | 13/25 (52.0) | 130 | 0 | 2 |
Yes, that Week 4 loss looks particularly bad. In between Weeks 3 and 4, Garoppolo was red-flagged for a attribute regression, meaning he got worse. Why? Because he was sacked four times against the Texans in that loss. It probably led to him looking terrible against Rex Ryan and the Bills, although Jacoby Brissett never came off the bench.
So 1-3 isn't great. The Pats would probably sign for 2-2, but 3-1 isn't out of the question. Getting blown out by Rex in Week 4 is almost worth two losses.
Now the good news: Tom Brady came back. And he destroyed people. Well, he destroyed the Browns anyway.
| Week | Opponent | Score | Comp/Att(%) | Yards | TD | INT |
| Week 5 | Browns | 45-0 (W) | 26/37 (70.3) | 279 | 4 | 1 |
Those numbers were actually low compared to what we were expecting to see, although Brady coming back angry and the Patriots bloodbathing the Browns fits well with the assumed narrative here.
From there we simmed the rest of the season because, well, we have stuff to do. New England would finish the season 10-6 and barely beat out the Bills for the AFC East title (Buffalo also finished 10-6).
In hilariously accurate Twitter news, Fake EA Skip Bayless tweeted that Griffin Murphy making the playoffs in his first season as Pats coach was dumb because he's "setting the expectations too high. #lowerthebar" -- can't make this stuff up!
Nevertheless, the Pats soldiered on into the postseason.
And New England would get revenge in the wild card game against the Bills, hosting Buffalo and beating the Bills. Brady was just 21 for 32 for 199 yards with no touchdowns and no interceptions.
And then the season ended, with New England falling short of a Super Bowl run with a loss at Cincinnati in the divisional round. Sad stuff indeed.
But wait, there's more. And it's much sadder.
TOM BRADY RETIRED.
Yes, that's right. Arguably the greatest quarterback in NFL history fell short of the Super Bowl in 2016 and decided to walk away from football. This isn't actually an unusual "Madden" outcome, because, well Brady's pretty old.
In fact it's the second-straight time we've done this exercise and seen Brady retire. It's just further proof of real-life Brady treating Father Time like virtual Brady treats the Browns.
