On Saturday night, Madden is hoping for a thrilling Dallas Cowboys victory.

The Dallas Cowboys will try to bounce back against the Detroit Lions on Saturday night in order to maintain their hopes of winning the NFC East and earning a home playoff game. In addition, should they win the first game, they would still be in the running for the NFC’s #2 seed and a second game in their stadium.

As I mentioned to our friends at Pride of Detroit, the Cowboys obviously have a lot on the line, but the Lions, who won the NFC North last week, don’t have quite as much on the line.

There are many possible outcomes for Saturday; at the absolute least, Jimmy Johnson will finally be admitted into the Ring of Honor. Nevertheless, we tried our usual thing, trying to guess what would happen. We played Madden 24 in simulation mode.

With two minutes remaining in the game, the Cowboys possessed the ball and needed to tie the game with a field goal or better, making this one of the more dramatic simulations we’ve seen this season. They managed to score the game-winning touchdown and gained more, giving the Lions extremely little time to perform a miracle.

Please be aware that this simulation was conducted before the news or injury updates on Friday.

First and 10 (DAL 20): Dak 4-yard rush Second and 6 (DAL 24): Dak to Ferguson for 24 yards First and 10 (DAL 48): Dak incomplete to Ferguson First and 10 (DAL 48): Dak to Gallup for 6 yards Third and 4 (DET 46): Dak to Pollard for 5 yards First and 10 (DET 41): Dak incomplete to Ferguson First and 10 (DET 41): Dak to CeeDee for 15 yards First and 10 (DET 26): Dak to Gallup for 20 yards First and Goal (DET 7): Dak to Pollard for 6 yards Second and Goal (DET 1): Touchdown, Tony PollardU

Tony Pollard completed an 80-yard drive in the simulation by punching it in from the 1-yard line, maybe as a payback for last week’s first-quarter Dallas possession against the Miami Dolphins. But the truly memorable play occurred two plays earlier, when Michael Gallup nearly crossed the goal line on a 20-yard reception.

Notable Madden figures

Dak Prescott: 15/21, 163 yards, 1 touchdown via pass
Tony Pollard: 11 carries, 68 yards, and the game-winning touchdown
Michael Gallup: 65 yards, 4 receptions
Brandin Cooks: 28 yards, 3 receptions
Jake Ferguson: 24 yards, 2 receptions
CeeDee Lamb: 15 yards, 1 reception
Luke Schonmaker: 12 yards, 1 touchdown, 1 reception
Chauncey Golston: 1 sack (Dallas’ lone one of the contest).

Though it may seem unlikely, Madden has successfully predicted the score in the past, this is always a fun speculation as to how things might turn out for the Cowboys and their opponent.

…although this season, that has most definitely not occurred.

Madden’s season and game-by-game predictions:
Week1: Madden picked the Cowboys to win 23–20; they actually won 40-0.
Week 2: Madden picked the Cowboys to win 27-14, but they ended up winning 30-10.
Week 3: Madden picked the Cowboys to win 14-7, but they fell short 28-16.
Week 4: Madden picked the Cowboys to win 41-14, while they actually won 38-3.
Week 5: Madden picked the Cowboys to win 27-19, but they fell short 42-10.
Week 6: Madden picked the Cowboys to lose 21-17, while they actually won 20-17.
Week 8: Contrary to Madden’s prediction, the Cowboys won 43-20 and lost 30-27.
Week 9: Madden picked the Cowboys to win 28-10, while they actually lost 28-23.
Week 10: Cowboys defeated 49-17, as Madden had predicted, 31-3.
Week 11: Dallas won 33-10, as Madden anticipated the Cowboys would lose 34-31.
Week 12: Dallas defeated the Cowboys 45-10 despite Madden’s 20-17 prediction.