Madden simulation for Bengals vs Titans in divisional round
The Cincinnati Bengals and Tennessee Titans go head-to-head this Saturday afternoon in one of the two AFC divisional round games on tap for the weekend.
Madden accurately predicted Cincinnati to take down the Las Vegas Raiders last weekend so let’s hope their projections continue to be correct.
How do they see this game in Nashville panning out?
Madden Simulation – Bengals 28, Titans 35
Bengals Stats
- Joe Burrow – 27-of-38, 314 yards, 2 TD, INT
- Joe Mixon – 14 carries, 82 yards, TD
- Ja’Marr Chase – 10 rec, 116 yards
- Tyler Boyd – 6 rec, 45 yards, TD
- Chris Evans – Rec, 17 yards, TD
- Logan Wilson – 12 tackles
- Trey Hendrickson – 2.5 sacks
- Sam Hubbard – 0.5 sacks
- Chidobe Awuzie – INT
- Eli Apple – INT returned for TD
Titans Stats
- Ryan Tannehill – 20-of-34, 287 yards, 3 TD, 2 INT
- Derrick Henry – 12 carries, 65 yards, TD
- D’Onte Foreman – 8 carries, 34 yards, TD
- A.J. Brown – 12 rec, 148 yards, TD
- Julio Jones – 3 rec, 24 yards, TD
- Geoff Swaim – 2 rec, 28 yards, TD
- Bud Dupree – 8 tackles
- Jeffery Simmons – 1.5 sacks
- Kristian Fulton – INT
The first quarter is pretty boring as the teams trade punts. With roughly three minutes to go in the first quarter, however, Tannehill gets the Titans on the board first with a dart to Jones in the end zone. The Bengals know they have to get something going in the second quarter, as they now trail 7-0.
On their next drive, Cincinnati gets into the red zone and Mixon is able to punch it in on an eight-yard touchdown run to tie things up at 7. This is the beginning of the offensive onslaught.
Henry and Foreman completely bulldoze over the stripes’ defense on the next drive and it’s only fitting that Henry finds his way into the end zone for the first time since he was injured. Titans fans are fired up at this point, as their squad is on top 14-7 and the offense chewed up the clock, leaving just five minutes in the half for the Bengals to work with.
Burrow and his offense execute a solid drive that ends with him finding a wide-open Evans, who scampers 17 yards into the end zone to tie things up once again. The drive doesn’t take too long and the Titans have an opportunity to pile on the points, as they’ll get the ball back in the second half.
That’s exactly what Tennessee does, unfortunately. Tannehill hits Brown for a 57-yard bomb to end the first half to get the bad guys a 21-14 lead. The Titans receive the ball to start the second half and after holding onto the ball for half of the third quarter, Foreman puts the defense out of its misery with a 12-yard touchdown run.
At this point, it’s 28-14 and the Bengals know they have their work cut out for them. Things look to spiral out of control at that point, as Burrow throws his first interception since Week 13 and sets the Titans up at midfield. Not good.
As the Titans continue to ground and pound on this drive, Tannehill drops back to throw his first pass attempt on the drive and it’s picked off by Awuzie. No harm done for the stripes there, fortunately. The third quarter comes to an end and it’s still 28-14 in favor of the Titans.
Burrow hits Boyd three plays later to make it a 28-21 ball game early in the fourth quarter. As the Titans look to run the ball down Cincy’s throats yet again, Tannehill — for whatever reason — throws another bad pass, and this time it’s much costlier, as Apple takes it to the house, making it a tie game in Nashville!
With about six minutes remaining, Tannehill does not throw another pass until the Titans are faced with 3rd and 12 in Bengals territory. He not only connects with Swaim, but a few missed tackles by the stripes defenders allows the Titans’ tight end to cruise into the end zone making it a 35-28 game.
The Bengals get the ball back with 2:04 remaining in the game and their season on the line. They might it all the way down to the Titans’ six-yard line but unfortunately, Mixon is stopped on two straight plays, Burrow is sacked on third down, and his fourth and final attempt is knocked down by Kevin Byard. Crushing.
"Cincinnati Bengals: All-time passing leaders in franchise history"
This would be a devastating way to lose but the Bengals would still have a lot to be proud of if their season does indeed come to an end on Saturday. Hopefully, Madden is wrong with its divisional round simulation.