Super Bowl 2023 sim: Chiefs defeat Eagles as Patrick Mahomes stars in Madden NFL 23

As kick-off between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Kansas City Chiefs approaches, the hype surrounding Super Bowl LVII at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, is growing. Of course, given how epic this game is projected to be, a certain impatience will boil over, which I can attest to. And if like me you can’t wait to get your football fix, allow me to bring you some relief in the form of our CBS Sports simulation of Super Bowl LVII.

If you’ve followed these Sims over the past few Super Bowls, you know it has quite the knack for beating these games. Last season, it correctly, the Los Angeles Rams had won it all over the cincinnati bengals and predicted the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to win about the Chiefs the year before.

Will there be three for three this year? If you’re an Eagles fan, hope not. That’s because this Madden NFL 23 sim let the Chiefs roll away with a pretty convincing 24-11 win and gave Patrick Mahomes his second Super Bowl title.

Mahomes was masterful from the start, helping KC start the night with a 14-0 run that saw the quarterback complete his first 14 passes, including a 12-for-12 run during those back-to-back touchdown drives.

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After an initial three-and-out, Philadelphia showed some signs of life in the first half when Jalen Hurts was able to connect with DeVonta Smith for a 55-yard reception that immediately put the Eagles within goal range before halftime. However, Kansas City’s defense stayed tough, holding them to a field goal and going 14-3 at halftime.

The Eagles made their best push against the Chiefs on the opening play of the second half. Hurts led a 75-yard touchdown drive that ended in a goal-line score from Miles Sanders. With the score at 14-9 after Sanders’ touchdown, Nick Sirianni kept his offense on the field for a two-point conversion to reduce the lead to a mere field goal. He once again put the club’s fate in Sanders’ hands and was able to pin two points on the board, making it a 14-11 game midway through the third quarter.

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As Philly gained momentum, the Chiefs decided to slow the game with a follow-up drive that chewed 4:46 off the clock over the course of 11 games. To make matters worse for the Eagles and their comeback hopes, that drive ended with a Mahomes touchdown on Noah Gray that pushed the lead back into double digits.

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The nail in the coffin came on the next Philly ride when the offense botched a screen pass and eventually resulted in a turnover. Hurts dropped back and threw the ball before his lineman or back could go out into space, and flicked the ball off the back of Lane Johnson’s helmet for Chiefs linebacker and Super Bowl LVII MVP Nick Bolton to pick up at the 3:11 mark of the fourth quarter. That led to a field goal drive from KC to put the Chiefs around 13 and on the inside winning lane.

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However, there was a brief sense that the Eagles could work some magic in the late game, especially after Hurts ripped off a 53-yard run that put the Philly offense on the 1-yard line with under a minute of play.

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If they could score a quick goal there, an onside kick would be involved, right? Well, we never saw what would happen next as safety Bryan Cook finally picked up hurts at the goal line to end the game for Kansas City.

Mahomes completed 19 of his 20 passes for 158 yards, two touchdowns and an interception in the win. Isiah Pacheco rushed for 61 yards and a touchdown on 11 carries. Meanwhile, Super Bowl MVP Nick Bolton had a total of six tackles and that clutch interception against hurts to wipe out any comeback hopes.

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phew!

If you’re a Chiefs fan, you’ll be pretty lucky if the actual game follows this blueprint. If you’re an Eagles fan, don’t worry too much as this is only a video game. In any case, if we get anywhere close to the action we saw here, we’re in for a fun night in Glendale, Arizona.