I’ll be tracking each week’s matchups between AFC and NFC teams to see who can win the battle of the conferences. I don’t feel like going back and looking at every week of season one just for one throwaway sentence, so let’s say the NFC won season one since the Eagles won the Super Bowl. Hard to argue with that. Anyway, I’ll unpack every matchup after it happens (and maybe occasionally a preview article), while tracking the overall record.
Without further delay, the breakdown of the week one results. The home team is on the left.
Bills vs Lions
Bills 24 def. Lions 20
Low scoring without Josh Allen as Nef’s rookie was still getting up to speed. These teams were 8-9 and 7-10 last season, respectively, so It’s not an upset. However, I think many were expecting Nef to win and with how his defense was able to perform and against a 62 overall, it was a bit disappointing as the AFC got on the board early.
Texans vs Packers
Texans 52 def. Packers 51
This one was a coin flip because it’s too pass-heavy and fast-paced users, and at that point, I’m sure something goes wrong eventually. In this case, Cruz’s only crucial miscue on offense came in OT on a two-point conversion that wasn’t to be. Casper scored and kicked an extra point to win. I respect the call from Green Bay, but the AFC gets another win.
Patriots vs Vikings
Patriots 55 def. Vikings 38
Now this was an upset. The Patriots missed the playoffs inside of the weakest division in PML, and the Vikings won a playoff game, even if they only went 9-8 in the regular season. Harrison Smith did retire and it hurt the defense. On the other side, maybe Puffy can make Drake Maye look like he does in real life. Drama will bounce back, but the AFC stays undefeated.
Broncos vs Falcons
Broncos 51 def. Falcons 21
Not an upset, but the score was shocking to many, including myself. HD is a solid user who easily made the playoffs in season one, and Fallen had a very similar season, even if he’s considered the better user. Maybe being the home team has a bigger influence than we thought. Or maybe the AFC is just that much better than the NFC.
Overall
AFC 4-0 NFC
None of these matchups were “gimmes” for the AFC. In fact, I’d say the NFC was favored in two of these contests. Zero wins is extremely disappointing; the NFC must perform better if they don’t want to be ignored as just randoms while the Eagles advance. Shoutout these AFC wins, though. None of them were “gimmes” either, I see all of them as good wins.
Home Teams
The other constant in week one, besides the AFC’s dominant start in this showdown, was that home teams went 4-0. That typically doesn’t matter in Madden, especially with M-factors and home-field advantages gone, but I thought it was worth noting.
