Minnesota Vikings

Dallas Cowboys @ Minnesota Vikings: The Madden Prediction

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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We used Madden 17 to predict the results of the upcoming Thursday Night Football game between the Dallas Cowboys and the Minnesota Vikings ahead of kickoff.

It’s always fun to try to predict the outcome of an NFL game before it happens, but playing that guessing game is more luck than science. What if there were a better way to predict the outcome of an impending match up? We’ll try using EA Sport’s Madden NFL ’17 to do exactly that.

The Dallas Cowboys will play the Minnesota Vikings this Thursday night. The league’s hottest team playing a road game against a talent-filled squad fighting for a playoff berth. This one was bound to be an exciting game from the start. The Madden simulation did not disappoint.

The Cowboys received the opening kickoff, and marched down 75 yards down the field to start the game. They capped the drive with a 3 yard touchdown run from their star rookie running back, Ezekiel Elliott. The Vikings responded with a drive of their own, going 75 yards for the score to tie the game.

On the second play after the ensuing kickoff, Elliott took the hand off from quarterback Dak Prescott, and bolted 63 yards into the end zone to give the Cowboys a quick score and the lead.

After a punt from each team, Minnesota quarterback Sam Bradford heaved a pass to receiver Cordarelle Patterson, who found the end zone himself for a 63 yard touchdown. After several more defensive stops, Dallas kicker Dan Bailey ended the half with a 37-yard field goal. 17-14, Cowboys.

The third quarter was forgettable at best, with neither team managing to find pay dirt. They made up for it with a fourth quarter for the ages.

With 13:40 on the clock in the final quarter of play, Minnesota capped a long drive with a touchdown run to take the lead, 21-17. Shortly after, Prescott showed off his arm with a 75 yard touchdown bomb to All-Pro wide receiver Dez Bryant. Cowboys lead, 24-21.

After Minnesota began threatening with a convincing drive, the Dallas defense forced a punt. Ezekiel Elliott rewarded them with an 84 yard touchdown to give the Cowboys a 10-point lead.

In a last ditch effort to win, Minnesota managed to score with 1:38 left to pull within 3 points. However, they could not recover the ensuing onside kick, leaving Dallas to run out the clock.

FINAL

	1	2	3	4	T
Vikings	7	7	0	14	28
Cowboys	14	3	0	14	31

So that is Madden’s prediction. What’s yours? Tell us in he comment section below what you believe the score will be between the Cowboys and Vikings this Thursday night.