NFL Week 1: Simulating every Sunday game on Madden 22

How will the first Sunday of the 2021 season and NFL Week 1 shake out? We’re letting Madden 22 answer that as we simulate every game.

It’s NFL Week 1, meaning we finally made it to the 2021 NFL season. We’ve already seen an instant classic between the Dallas Cowboys and defending champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers. But now it’s Sunday, meaning there’s a full slate of action on deck with 13 games spanning from the afternoon into the night.

We can certainly prognosticate what we think will happen in these games and, frankly, we have on a couple of occasions. But why work harder when you can work smarter? That’s why we’re letting Madden 22 figure out how NFL Week 1 is going to play out on Sunday.

Looking at every game on Sunday in the first week of the season, we simulated each game in Madden 22. These were the results.

Simulating every NFL Week 1 game on Sunday in Madden 22

Jacksonville Jaguars: 35, Houston Texans: 24

Trevor Lawrence picks up his first NFL win on the back of 337 passing yards and two touchdowns, albeit with an interception. Tyrod Taylor isn’t bad for Houston, though, with 300 yards and two scores of his own. James Robinson is the real difference-maker, though, taking 25 totes for 99 yards and two scores in a game that isn’t as close as the score would indicate.

Los Angeles Chargers: 30, Washington Football Team: 7

Everyone talking about the Washington Football Team being a contender this season might want to hold their tongue.

Despite Justin Herbert only throwing for 160 yards and tossing a pick to go with two scores, Ryan Fitzpatrick threw four interceptions to all but cost Washington the game. Austin Ekeler also looked unstoppable with 16 carries for 136 yards and a trip to the end zone. But again, it was the Chargers defense snuffing out FitzMagic that made the biggest difference.

Seattle Seahawks: 20, Indianapolis Colts: 25

Even with 298 yards and a score from Russell Wilson along with two Chris Carson touchdowns, the Seahawks couldn’t outlast the Colts, namely with Jonathan Taylor owning the Seattle defense and Carson Wentz playing relatively well.

The newcomer at quarterback had 243 yards on 19-of-31 passing, though he failed to score, but Taylor went for 114 yards on 24 carries with two touchdowns. Throw in a safety and a trio of Rodrigo Blankenship field goals and the Colts edged one out at home.

New York Jets: 43, Carolina Panthers: 37

Easily one of the best games of Week 1, Jets rookie Zach Wilson and Panthers new addition (and former Jet) Sam Darnold got into a duel that saw the youngster throw for 443 yards and two scores with Darnold having 400 yards and three touchdowns.

New York took a sizeable early lead but the Panthers stormed back to force overtime. In the extra frame, though, a long drive and three-yard Lamical Perine run sealed the deal for Gang Green to move them to 1-0.

Minnesota Vikings: 17, Cincinnati Bengals: 24

Vikings fans are surely starting to panic after this one as their 2020 struggles might not be contained to that year. Joe Burrow fully outdueled Kirk Cousins with 265 yards on 25-of-31 passing compared to 26-of-49 for 352 but with the same number of touchdowns (2) and one pick compared to none. With Dalvin Cook also held to just 38 yards on 15 carries, Minnesota had no shot of winning in the Queen City.

Arizona Cardinals: 17, Tennessee Titans: 41

Domination was the name of the game for the Titans. As you’d expect, Derrick Henry had his way with 24 carries for 110 yards while the Cardinals had no rushing attack to truly speak of. With Ryan Tannehill also out-passing Kyler Murray (256-to-203 with two touchdowns to one), the Cardinals never stood a chance in this one.

San Francisco 49ers: 27, Detroit Lions: 24

Anyone expecting a 49ers blowout most definitely was shocked by this game. It took overtime for San Francisco to get the win as Jared Goff delivered a big debut for the Lions with 317 yards and three touchdowns.

Raheem Mostert and Trey Sermon proved to be a big difference for San Francisco, however, combining for 35 carries and 132 yards with two touchdowns. Still, if the Niners have Super Bowl dreams, there’s work to do from narrowly beating the Lions.

Pittsburgh Steelers: 12, Buffalo Bills: 17

Though Ben Roethlisberger threw for 348 yards, he also gave up four turnovers on the day. Josh Allen was pedestrian as he threw for only 184 yards with no touchdowns and a pick on barely over 50 percent passing but that was good enough for the win thanks to a couple of rushing touchdowns out of the backfield and a strong performance from the defense to come up with those four interceptions.

Philadelphia Eagles: 20, Atlanta Falcons: 36

The Eagles weren’t even as close in this game as the final score would indicate, and that’s not all that close either.

A late touchdown made the final look more respectable but Matt Ryan was lights-out with 27-of-40 for 281 yards and three touchdowns while Mike Davis looked good in Arthur Smith’s offense, taking 19 carries for 73 yards and another score. It wasn’t overwhelming but the Falcons were clearly the better team on Sunday.

Cleveland Browns: 24, Kansas City Chiefs: 38

After falling behind early, the Browns clawed back to tie the game at 24 before Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs pulled away at the end with two fourth-quarter touchdowns to seal the 14-point victory for Kansas City.

Had Baker Mayfield not thrown four interceptions while Mahomes threw four touchdowns and just one pick, this one could’ve ended differently. Alas, Madden 22 would have us believe that the Browns aren’t on the same level as the Chiefs just yet.

Green Bay Packers: 31, New Orleans Saints: 21

Packers fans are definitely glad to have Aaron Rodgers back as the quarterback threw for 235 yards and two touchdowns to outduel Jameis Winston, though the Saints first-time starter played well with 244 yards, two scores and a pick. The 1-2 punch of Aaron Jones and AJ Dillon was too much for New Orleans, though, as the duo combined for 100 yards and two touchdowns to push Green Bay to the win.

Denver Broncos: 31, New York Giants: 21

Most people would probably tell you a Giants loss means Daniel Jones cost them and, while he completed just 14-of-31 passes, he actually threw for 261 yards and two scores, both of which were more than Teddy Bridgewater with the Broncos.

However, Denver rookie running back Javonte Williams was the story, taking only nine carries for 112 yards and three touchdowns. Add in Saquon Barkley looking pedestrian with 48 yards and a score on 15 totes and the Broncos got a nice opening victory.

Miami Dolphins: 20, New England Patriots: 38

If you had Mac Jones outplaying Tua Tagovailoa pretty substantially, then congratulations. THe rookie stepped up to go 25-of-38 for 366 yards with two scores and a pick while Tua went 18-of-41 for 226 with two scores and an interception. With James White and Damien Harris each contributing a touchdown, the Patriots cruised to a pretty easy victory over their AFC East rivals on Sunday.

Chicago Bears: 7, Los Angeles Rams: 27 (Sunday Night Football)

It’s going to be hard to justify not making a change from Andy Dalton after this game. The Rams jumped out to a 27-0 lead before Dalton found Darnell Mooney for a touchdown in the fourth quarter.

All told, Matthew Stafford carved the Bears up with 331 yards, three scores and a pick while Dalton was just 16-of-35 for 202 yards, one touchdown and an interception. Sony Michel led the way in rushing while DeSean Jackson exploded for 111 yards on six receptions. For good measure, Aaron Donald got the sack party started with one in the dominant win.