Madden simulation for Bengals vs Browns in week 18

Madden has gone 0-2 the past two weeks when predicting how Cincinnati Bengals games will pan out. They had them losing to the Ravens and to the Chiefs but the stripes prevailed in both. Last week’s win was particularly shocking, as KC was riding an eight-game win streak.

This week’s Madden sim was a little tough to do, as we’re still not sure of who all will play in the Bengals-Browns matchup. I put Brandon Allen in as the starter, sat Joe Mixon out, and also removed the players who were on the COVID-19 list as of writing this article. Keep all of that in mind when reading the article.

How did Madden predict the battle of backup quarterbacks would go?

Madden Simulation – Bengals 17, Browns 24

Bengals Stats

• Brandon Allen – 20-of-29, 217 yards, TD, 2 INT
• Samaje Perine – 13 carries, 56 yards; 3 rec, 12 yards
• Chris Evans – 8 carries, 23 yards, TD
• C.J. Uzomah – 3 rec, 36 yards, TD
• D.J. Reader – 1.5 sacks
• Eli Apple – INT

Browns Stats

• Case Keenum – 24-of-36, 265 yards, 2 TD, INT
• Nick Chubb – 17 carries, 82 yards, TD; 5 rec, 24 yards
• Donovan Peoples-Jones – 7 rec, 102 yards, TD
• Austin Hooper – 3 rec, 16 yards, TD
• Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah – 11 tackles
• Myles Garrett – 2.5 sacks
• Denzel Ward – INT
• John Johnson III – INT

The game starts off pretty depressing for Bengals fans, as Keenum leads the Browns right down the field and gets Cleveland on the board with a touchdown pass to Hooper. Just like that, it’s 7-0 Browns.

The Bengals and Browns then trade punts on their next two drives but Allen is able to get Cincy into the red zone on their next drive. Evan McPherson knocks through a 43-yard field goal to get the good guys on the board and it’s 7-3 Browns at the end of the first quarter.

It’s all Cleveland in the second quarter, as Keenum adds another touchdown pass to his stat sheet, this time to Peoples-Jones and it’s 14-3 in favor of the bad guys.

Allen throws a pick on his first pass attempt on the next possession, setting the Browns up in a goal-to-go situation. Cleveland capitalizes, as Chubb takes it in on the goal line to increase the lead to 21-3. That’s the score heading into the locker room at halftime.

At this point, Bengals fans might not be interested in watching the game anymore, as the stripes are in the playoffs and this is the battle of the backups for the most part. If they continue to watch, they’ll see Allen do the best he can to get his guys back into the game.

On the ensuing drive, the backup signal-caller throws his first (and only) touchdown pass of the game to Uzomah and it’s a 21-10 game. Things get even more exciting when Keenum’s pass is picked by Apple on the next drive, putting Cincy in great field position to add more points.

Allen and the offense take things to the fourth quarter trailing by 11 points, but on the very first play of the final quarter, Evans runs in to make it a 21-17 game. Unfortunately, the stripes are unable to add any more points while the Browns tack on a field goal in the final few minutes, making the 24-17 score the final in Cleveland.

Allen had a shot to tie things up in the final 30 seconds, but a late-game sack by Garrett put an end to a potential comeback.

It’s hard to take any of these sims seriously but it’s especially hard to look too much into a sim involving a large number of backups. Hopefully, the Bengals find a way to win this one and at least remain the No. 3 seed in the playoffs.