We’ve spent the last week looking at some of the more interesting division results from our ten simulations of the 2025 season in Madden NFL 26, but there were some interesting developments that needed special attention. Whether individual team notes from divisions that didn’t get the full-attention service or league-wide trends we found interesting, these are some notable predictions care of Madden’s simulation engine.
If you’d like to check out the individual division previews you can read about the AFC North, AFC South, NFC North and NFC West to see how each of the teams in them performed in both the regular season and postseason in our simulations.
Madden Believes In Baker Mayfield
While the clear and distant favorite in the NFL this season according to Madden is the Baltimore Ravens, who hoarded half of the Super Bowl titles to themselves, there was a surprising team holding down the fort as the only other multi-time Super Bowl Champions: The Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Tampa Bay actually topped the field in both of the first two simulations run, making them the early favorites to be Madden’s favorite team before the Baltimore juggernaut emerged.
While results tailed off from the lofty heights of those initial runs, which also saw them win 27 total regular-season games, they didn’t wane by much. Across all ten simulations, their 11.1-5.9 record was the best in the NFC, trailing only Baltimore and Buffalo for best in the league. They were absolutely dominant in the weak NFC South, winning it seven times and finishing second place the other three, making them joint-second best for average division finish alongside Buffalo.
Though another title wasn’t on the cards they did still manage additional seasons of 13 and 15 wins, with their floor coming in at a respectable 8-9. While they did struggle in the playoffs whenever they didn’t secure one of the top-two seeds, they still posted a strong overall playoff record of 10-6 bolstered by another Conference Final run the year their 15 wins secured them the top seed.
The Top Seed Means Little (Except For The Ravens)
When the NFL expanded the playoff field to seven teams from six it meant that only the top seed in the conference would receive a bye, making the difference in coming first or second no longer just about home field for the Conference Championship Game should the top seeds both advance, but the difference between having to play an additional win-or-go-home-game or not. When it came to our Madden sims, however, securing the top seed was less of a guarantee of success than you might expect, particularly given some of the showy records brought into the playoffs.
Looked at in the macro, things don’t look so bad for #1 seeds. Half of the top seeds were able to back up their regular season by winning their conference, and once in the Super Bowl, six of those ten teams captured the title. Those numbers got a bit skewed by the simulation-wide dominance of Baltimore, however, which was the AFC’s top team seven times, failing to reach the big game only once and winning it four times.
For teams without Lamar Jackson under center it was a rougher go at the top. Thirteen other teams earned first round byes and more of them lost their first game, five, than made it to the Super Bowl, four, as nine of those 13 crashed out shy of Super Bowl Sunday.
The Gravitational Pull Of Drama Is Real
One recurring theme that has popped up throughout our Madden simulations has been the game’s propensity for drama, as the game repeatedly spat out Super Bowl pairings with historical intrigue, much like how the Steelers and Cowboys played out their fourth and fifth big game matchups in our Steelers rebuild.
In discussing the NFC West we looked at how San Francisco found their way back to the Super Bowl on three occasions only for each to end the same way their first Super Bowl Loss did: at the hands, again, of those unstoppable Ravens. The AFC North similarly had a tendency, even with its poorer performing teams, of having playoff runs inevitably lead to a run-in with their hated divisional rival.
It wasn’t all teams getting terminated by Baltimore, however, as there was also some catharsis to be found in Buffalo. Not only did Madden see fit to grant the Bills their elusive Super Bowl title after so many years of heartbreak, it even had the decency to let them do it in the most satisfying way possible by putting an absolute beatdown on the only Cowboys team to manage a playoff win in ten simulations.
The AFC West Flatters To Deceive
The AFC West has largely owned the AFC of late, albeit in the same way Wayne and Brent Gretzky hold the record for most points in the NHL by a pair of brothers. With the Chiefs utterly dominant and usually at least one of the other three playing semi-competent football, the West has had a major presence in the postseason.
Although the Chiefs dip a bit in these simulations, falling to third in the conference on average record, the division posted a strong 8.9-8.1 average record, the best in the AFC. Unfortunately for fans of the West, things are less rosey come the postseason. Only the Chargers managed to pick up a win in the playoffs more often than going home in their first game, and none of the four managed a winning record in the postseason, combining for just a 12-19 record when the losses are permanent.
Ravens Haters Just Became The Biggest Josh Allen Fans Outside Of Buffalo
Whether you read the AFC North preview to get the full look into just how dominant Baltimore was in these simulations or not, their ever presence in the prior sections highlights just how much they outperformed the competition. While no team was particularly successful at threatening the Ravens, there was one clear contender for the role of Baltimore spoiler.
Fittingly, it’s the team with the man who spent last year going head-to-head with Lamar Jackson in the MVP race, with Josh Allen and the Bills proving to be the second-best team in the simulations on average record and top-end results. They made the playoffs nine times, only exiting in the wild card round once. In addition to a Super Bowl win, they managed a second appearance as well as three more trips to the Conference Championship Game.
Their 15-9 postseason record was another place they were closest on Baltimore’s heels, securing their claim to best of the rest, and the heroes of anyone hoping to not see purple and black confetti this February.
So You’re Telling Us There’s A Chance
The majority of the good news was hogged by just one team and a whole lot of teams put in some pretty hopeless performances across ten simulations, but that doesn’t mean there is no good news for you if you root for the wrong team. Despite some impressively consistent failures from some of the presumed-worst teams in the league, every team managed to make the playoffs in our simulation once, even a Browns team that averaged fewer than five wins per season.,
Once there it was no guarantee that virtual fans would have a good time, with nearly a quarter of the league’s teams failing to win a playoff game in any of the ten simulations. Still, just being in the playoffs means you’ve got a shot, and Madden believes that even the worst teams could potentially see January action if things break right, so whoever your team is there’s at least a modicum of hope.
This wraps up our simulation tests for the upcoming 2025 NFL Season, and with one prediction far more clear than any other, the Ravens are likely where the success or failure of Madden’s efforts will be judged. How did your team fare under our observation? Has this given you more reason for optimism, or does Madden think it’s going to be a rough year for you?
