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New England Patriots do not win AFC East in Madden 18 simulation

By Nick Ziegler

John Madden taps his bust during his Hall of Fame ceremony before the game as the Oakland Raiders defeated the Arizona Cardinals by a score of 22 to 9 at McAfee Coliseum, Oakland, California, October 22, 2006. (Photo by Robert B. Stanton/NFLPhotoLibrary)
John Madden taps his bust during his Hall of Fame ceremony before the game as the Oakland Raiders defeated the Arizona Cardinals by a score of 22 to 9 at McAfee Coliseum, Oakland, California, October 22, 2006. (Photo by Robert B. Stanton/NFLPhotoLibrary) /
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Even though Madden 18 hasn’t been released yet, there has already been a simulation of the season for the New England Patriots.

One of the surest things coming into the 2017 NFL season is that the New England Patriots are pretty much the unanimous choice to win the AFC East. Since Tom Brady and Bill Belichick came to New England, they have established a dominance over the rest of the division.

Prior to the start of training camp, the Miami Dolphins were the biggest competition to the Patriots in the division. However, the Dolphins lost Ryan Tannehill for the entire season with a knee injury. Even though Jay Cutler isn’t a bad replacement for him, he doesn’t pose much of a threat to New England.

Recently, CBS Sports did a simulation of the entire 2017 season in the upcoming game, Madden 18. One of the most shocking things in the simulation was that the Buffalo Bills were able to win the AFC East.

The simulation obviously confused Will Brinson of CBS Sports, as not many are expecting to see the Bills go 11-5. However, a great season from LeSean McCoy in the simulation certainly helped.

"Confused about, you know, the Bills beating the Patriots, I did some statistical investigation. LeSean McCoy was No. 7 in the MVP voting (although Blake Bortles was No. 8, so red flags are flying everywhere)."

In game simulations, some strange things do tend to happen. While McCoy is certainly a great running back, he likely won’t be carrying the Bills to an AFC East Title this year.

This offseason, the Patriots were able to improve on paper from the team that won the Super Bowl last season. In addition to possibly having more talent on the roster, the Patriots also don’t have a very difficult strength of schedule.

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While we will have to wait and see how the actual season plays out, it seems unlikely that the Patriots won’t win the AFC East. Considering that the Bills are in the midst of a rebuild, they will likely pose no threat to dethrone the Patriots in the division.

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