EA Sports' "Madden NFL" has long been recognized for its above-average accuracy in predicting Super Bowl results. In some cases, the accuracy has been frightening.
Going back to 2004, "Madden" is 10-for-14 in picking the Super Bowl winner. On multiple occasions, it has done so with the precise margin of victory or even the exact final score.
The spread for Super Bowl 52 as of Tuesday was Patriots -4.5, giving New England the equivalent of a 64 percent chance to beat Philadelphia on Sunday. "Madden NFL 18" agrees with that result but sees the game being much closer to a toss-up.
SUPER BOWL 52:
SN's picks, predictions for Eagles vs. Patriots
In running well over 100 full game simulations in "Madden NFL 18," it became clear that the video game engine believes the Eagles have a better chance at pulling off the upset than the general public does. Philadelphia was able to win 48 percent of the games and held its own against New England in many its defeats.
More surprising than the competitiveness of the matchup: The higher-scoring games favored the Eagles. Few would expect Nick Foles not only keep up with Tom Brady in a high-scoring game, but to best the New England QB. Games that went OVER (48.5 points) were won by Philly 59 percent of the time.
The lower-scoring games, however, were dominated by the Patriots, who won 66 percent of those that finished UNDER.
MORE SUPER BOWL 52:
MVP odds | Full matchup breakdown
"Madden" is predicting Super Bowl 52 to be competitive either way. Of the simulations, 55 finished as one-score games. Two games even went into double overtime.
Brady took the most Super Bowl MVP awards during the simulations, walking away with the honor 72 percent of the time the Patriots won. Dion Lewis and Rob Gronkowski won the majority of the remaining awards.
Jay Ajayi was most often the top performer for the Eagles, receiving the MVP award 54 percent of the time the Eagles won. Behind him were Nick Foles and Zach Ertz.
EA Sports released its official "simulation" of Super Bowl 52, though it has been heavily produced for dramatic purposes.
Its official prediction is a Patriots win, yet again in heart-stopping fashion.
Bryan Wiedey posts sports gaming news and analysis daily at Pastapadre.com, is co-founder of the sports gaming site HitThePass.com, hosts the "Press Row Podcast" and can be reached on Twitter @Pastapadre.