The NFL has reached its final stop: Super Bowl LIX. The anticipation for this game is through the roof as the Philadelphia Eagles seek revenge on the Kansas City Chiefs after they defeated them back in Super Bowl LVII, while Patrick Mahomes and Co. are attempting the league’s first-ever three-peat.
While we twiddle our thumbs and wait for this game to kick off, we’re getting our football fix by firing up the ole Xbox and playing out our annual Madden NFL 25 Super Bowl simulation. We’ve conducted this simulation for the last few years on CBS Sports, and it’s been eerily accurate for the most part. It was a 3-0 outright (including Super Bowl LVII between these two teams) up until last year when it incorrectly had the 49ers edging out Kansas City.
In this simulation — where we have it set to All-Madden, 10-minute quarters and simply sit back and watch the action unfold — the Chiefs will hope they can buck the trend again just as they did a year ago as Philadelphia edged out a 31-28 victory to win Super Bowl LIX. And if this actual Super Bowl plays out the way this simulation did, we’re in for quite the game.
Let’s get into it.
Defenses owned the opening possessions in this game as the Chiefs forced the Eagles to go three-and-out after receiving the opening kickoff. However, Kansas City couldn’t parlay that quick stop into points. Instead, Eagles linebacker Zack Baun intercepted Mahomes, which gave Philly the ball on their own 35-yard line.
Just a few plays later, the Eagles found themselves at the 1-yard line but opted against the “Tush Push” in this spot (which they’d likely do in real life). Here, they had Jalen Hurts in the shotgun and the quarterback fired a touchdown to A.J. Brown to go up 7-0.
Philly’s defense continued to roll throughout the first half, which included Jalen Carter getting to Mahomes and sacking him on third down. Despite starting at their own 10-yard line following the K.C. punt, the Eagles marched all the way down the field until Hurts connected with Jahan Dotson for a 46-yard touchdown to make it a two-touchdown lead.
Following that score by the Eagles offense, it looked like the route was on, particularly after the defense forced the Chiefs into a three-and-out and punted the ball back to the offense with the opportunity to go up by three scores. However, that’s when Kansas City showed some initial signs of life with the defense forcing a fumble on a scramble by Hurts, which was picked up by Chris Jones.
That gave the Chiefs the ball in favorable territory and were able to cash in with a Mahomes touchdown pass to rookie Xavier Worthy, cutting the deficit to a single touchdown.
The Eagles responded well to the Chiefs capitalizing off their turnover on their ensuing possession, matching them with a score of their own. After converting several third downs, Dotson again became a key outlet for Hurts, hauling in a pass that brought the Philadelphia offense to the 1-yard line. That’s when the Eagles called on running back Saquon Barkley to punch it in for the score.
That proved to be the final score of the half with the Eagles holding a 21-7 lead at the break. To begin the third quarter, Philadelphia’s defense continued to smother Mahomes, again forcing a three-and-out. Thanks to a big catch-and-run by Dallas Goedert, the Eagles offense was able to start fast on its first possession of the second half and Hurts added to the team’s lead with a rushing touchdown in the red zone.
With the score sitting at 28-7, Mahomes threw his second interception of the game on a third-and-5 pass up the right sideline, which was picked by Darius Slay. Once again, it looked as if the Eagles were going to run away with the game with the ball and already up 21 points.
However, this is when the Chiefs started to claw back with a frantic 21-point fourth quarter. After forcing the Eagles into a three-and-out, Mahomes moved quickly down the field and connected with DeAndre Hopkins for a touchdown to make it a 28-14 game.
The Eagles were able to chew some clock on their next possession and added to the lead with a field goal, but the Chiefs continued to storm back. Mahomes orchestrated a 70-yard touchdown drive that was largely sparked by tight end Noah Gray. After a 35-yard reception that flipped the field, the tight end hauled in a touchdown, which suddenly made it a 10-point game. Kansas City’s onside kick attempt at the 2:50 mark of the fourth quarter gave Philadelphia the football, but the Chiefs were able to regain possession without the Eagles adding to their lead. Nick Sirianni left his offense on the field on fourth down in an attempt to ice the game with a first down, but the K.C. defense took down Hurts to turn the ball over on downs.
On the very next play by the Chiefs offense, Mahomes hit Hollywood Brown on the right side of the field, which he took 74 yards to the house, making it a 31-28 game and the comeback very much alive.
Of course, Kansas City again had to opt for an onside kick, which was very much in play to be recovered by the kicking team as it laid on the turf for a second before an Eagles special teams player jumped on it.
After gaining possession and killing the rest of the clock, Philadelphia narrowly escaped what would’ve been a comeback for the (virtual) ages, outlasting the Chiefs to win Super Bowl LIX.
Jalen Hurts was named Super Bowl MVP after throwing for 231 yards and two touchdowns while adding 48 yards rushing and a touchdown on the ground. Again, if this is how the actual Super Bowl LIX plays out, it’ll be one of the more entertaining games in recent memory.
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