Buffalo Bills, Philadelphia Eagles (Mandatory Credit: Rich Barnes-USA TODAY Sports)
The Buffalo Bills have been among everyone’s top five Super Bowl favorites since their overtime playoff loss to the Kansas City Chiefs last season. They currently hold +650 odds to hoist the Vince Lombardi Trophy per WynnnBET, placing them behind the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (+600). While that isn’t surprising, it’s equally expected that there won’t be as many NFL fans who place wagers that the Philadelphia Eagles will join them in football’s biggest game as the representatives of the National Football Conference.
Philly’s gaining on some of the field though. They currently have odds of +2000, making them, in Las Vegas’ eyes, the sixth most likely winner from the NFC.
Some of you are probably saying ‘big deal’. That would make them the sixth-seeded team come playoff time and the second-best team in their division (the Dallas Cowboys have odds of +1600). That’s probably where most of you slotted them anyway.
If you’re a ‘the glass is half-full’ type of individual, this won’t alter your mood any. It wasn’t that long ago that this team finished the 2020 NFL regular season with a 4-11-1 record, so knowing that Philly has a better roster now and is expected to make the playoffs is fantastic news. The question is this.
When will the Birds be seen as a Super Bowl favorite again? Seeing as how none of us have the answer for that (and we have a lot of time on our hands), we sought the help of a Madden simulation. Let’s put things this way.
If this game is as realistic of a sim as Electronic Arts would like for you to believe it is, the Birds may not be as far from football’s ultimate prize as many of you believe they are.
Last season, the Birds performed as many of us expected. They beat the teams that they’re supposed to beat (with the exception of that horrific loss to the New York Giants at MetLife Stadium). They lost to the teams that we thought were better. Often, when the latter occurred, they were beaten soundly.
The next step, if they’re to make the expected leap, is beating the NFL’s better teams and doing so consistently. Can that be done this season?
While no one has any way of determining the answer to that before we see the season begin and the games begin counting towards the win-loss total, we still thought that it might be fun to have our friends at GLA do a Super Bowl simulation.
How’s that for research?
Philly’s opponent was the AFC East favorites, the Buffalo Bills. Four quarters led to overtime. Buffalo eventually pulled things out by a 30-24 margin, but it was an entertaining watch. Check it out for yourselves.
Thank GLA’s Youtube channel for the clip. Make sure you hit the ‘subscribe’ button and tap the notifications bell.
Okay, so we hate the ending, but again, if Madden can be counted on as being a fairly decent simulation, we’d be happy with what this may indicate. It’s probably a theory that you would have subscribed to whether you’re an eAthlete or not.
The Eagles can hang with anybody, They’re not ready to challenge the NFL’s elite quite yet, but they’re on their way. Hopefully, another Vince Lombardi Trophy makes its way onto the shelf sooner rather than later.
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