| 02 September 2010
According to a Madden 11 simulation of the 2010 NFL season, the Baltimore Ravens and Green Bay Packers will end up at the top of their conferences.
EA Sports did a simulation of the entire season but did not do the postseason. On the company blog, there's plenty of stats of how the sim went. Perhaps most amazing is that Oakland's Nnamdi Asomugha didn't get in the top 10 in interceptions. Also, Stephen Jackson of St. Louis had monster numbers on a team that went 1-15 last season.
Green Bay not only got the top seed in the NFC but some hardware.
Behind the arm of QB Aaron Rodgers (named MVP and Offensive Player of the Year), the road to Super Bowl XLV in the NFC will go through Lambeau Field as the Packers finished with a 12-4 record, while Baltimore relied on the exceptional play of OLB Terrell Suggs (named Defensive Player of the Year) to secure home-field advantage in the AFC. The Baltimore Ravens and Indianapolis Colts both posted NFL-best records of 13-3, with the Ravens securing home-field advantage due to a better divisional record.
New England, Indianapolis and San Diego won their divisions in 2010, while the upstart New York Jets secured a Wild Card berth in the AFC. After years of being tapped as the next up and coming team, the Houston Texans made the playoffs as a Wild Card team with a 9-7 record, grabbing the sixth seed in the AFC.
The Minnesota Vikings tied for the best record in the NFC with Green Bay at 12-4, but due to the Packers' better divisional record, settled for the fifth seed in the playoffs as a Wild Card team. After seven years without a playoff appearance, the San Francisco 49ers joined the Dallas Cowboys and New Orleans Saints as division winners in the NFC, while the Atlanta Falcons secured the final Wild Card spot in the conference.
