Madden 20 NFL Simulation: Packers vs. Vikings Prediction for Monday Night Football
Monday Night Football brings a huge matchup just ahead of the NFL Playoffs. The NFC North will be under the spotlight as the Minnesota Vikings host the Green Bay Packers. The Packers come in with an 11-3 record against a Vikings team that is 10-4 overall and 6-0 at home. So who will take this win? We’ve run our own Madden 20 NFL simulation to see what might happen in Monday night’s big matchup.
Packers vs. Vikings Madden 20 NFL simulation – first-half results
We’ve got a Packers team with an 87 Madden 20 rating against a Vikings team with an 83. The Vikings have the home-field advantage, but that usually matters very little when teams are facing Aaron Rodgers. Both teams also feature Superstar X-Factor players. The Vikings have Harrison Smith, Adam Thielen, and Dalvin Cook while the Packers have Aaron Rodgers and Jaire Alexander.
The Packers received the kickoff to start but were three and done after a good defensive stand by Minnesota. However, the punt was downed at the one-yard line giving the Vikings a tough start. The Packers would get back to work after a nice punt return themselves. A facemask penalty against Minnesota along with the strong play of Rodgers helped put Green Bay in the red zone. Unfortunately, a field goal was all they could come away with. Minnesota couldn’t connect on a 56-yard FG of their own.
1st quarter: Packers 3, Vikings 0
In the second quarter, Green Bay was once again threatening after Minnesota’s missed field goal. Rodgers couldn’t find his man on a third-down attempt so Green Bay settled for another field goal to extend to a 6-0 lead.
Another penalty would hinder the Vikings as they were nearing the endzone. However, they finally got on the scoreboard with a field goal to cut the lead in half. The Packers would move down the field well once again but came away with yet another field goal.
The Packers’ defense continued to play strong as the Vikings closed in on their endzone, holding them a yard short of a first down. That meant yet another field goal in this one to make it 9-6 Packers.
The Vikings would get the ball as halftime approached and lost Dalvin Cook to an injury timeout. Minnesota managed to connect on another field goal with 10 seconds left in the half.
Halftime: Green Bay 9, Minnesota 9
Vikings vs. Packers simulation second-half results
Green Bay would finally get on the board with a touchdown to Geronimo Allison in the third quarter. However, Minnesota came right back, as they marched down the field and Cousins connected with David Morgan II for a short TD pass. That made it 16-16 as the close matchup moved forward.
End of 3rd quarter: Packers 16, Vikings 16
The Packers’ suffocating defense kept holding the Vikings back every time it appeared they were making good progress. However, Cousins would find a man past the 50-yard line to keep it going. Cook was unable to get a crucial first down, but yet another field goal was added to Minnesota’s total, giving them their first lead of the game.
Anthony Barr was able to pick off an Aaron Rodgers’ pass during the Packers’ next drive. Cousins started to heat up with three-straight completions to get his team right near the end zone. After getting sacked, Cousins bounced right back and found Stefon Diggs for the score. That made it 26-16 Vikings with under four minutes to play.
Green Bay managed to get into scoring territory with a minute and a half to go. Rodgers hit Marquez Valdes-Scantling with a touchdown and after an extra point, it was just 26-23 in favor of the home team.
The Packers attempted an onside kick with no luck but still had three timeouts remaining. Those came in hand as Green Bay stopped Minnesota using defense and the timeouts leaving 1:11 to go. The Vikings’ defense stood firm in holding off Rodgers. A big sack by Linval Joseph on a Packers fourth-down try sealed the game for the Vikings.
Final: Vikings win, 26-23 in a close one in Minnesota.
Madden 20 NFL simulation final stats
Aaron Rodgers would finish 25-for-37 with 271 yards and two touchdowns along with an interception. Cousins came up big with a 26-for-37 game with 354 yards and two touchdowns in the win. In terms of receivers, it was Adam Thielen leading the way with 115 yards on six catches for Minnesota, while Davante Adams had eight receptions for 83 yards for Minnesota.
The ground game wasn’t quite as strong for either side. Minnesota’s Dalvin Cook finished with 63 yards on 18 carries in the game while Green Bay’s Adam Jones had 12 carries for just 21 yards. The Vikings got another 37 yards from Ameer Abdullah.
Za’Darius Smith of the Packers made a strong defensive effort with six solo tackles and two sacks in the game. Anthony Barr had five solo tackles, six assisted tackles, and an interception for Minnesota.
Will this be how the story goes for Monday Night Football? We’re certainly waiting to see as the current point spread favors the Vikings by five with a points total of 47.5 for the game, per ESPN.
Check out Madden’s Week 16 picks here for all of the simulated predictions.
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