Welcome back to our latest edition of the Madden Matchup, where we preview the Texans upcoming game using the video game Madden 16. For those of you that have braved the entire season of our Madden predictions, let's take a moment to revel in the greatness that is our current three-game winning (we put that lightly of course) streak.
Breathe it in. Feels good doesn't it? Heck, breathe it in again...
Oh, we aren't done being sarcastic at all. In honor of this magical three-game run, I figured it would only be right to celebrate some of the greatest things in the history of the world that come in threes.
The Dark Knight Trilogy (can you tell I really like Batman?)
Jay-Z's 'The Blueprint' albums *
*Destiny's Child (I'm sure Jay-Z agrees with me)
The Indiana Jones movies (like you, I like to pretend that silly one about aliens doesn't exist)
Alvin, Simon and Theodore (my kids love that movie)
Right after that undebatable top five (you can't argue, this is my column so I win) sits the Texans current run on our Madden Matchups. Back when the Texans were 2-5 in real life, not many saw this type of streak happening. Madden knew though, correctly predicting wins over the Bengals, Jets and Saints. They never doubted us.
Alright, enough bragging. Back to the preview.
The Bills and Texans are somewhat similar, both in real life and on Madden 16. They both have solid front sevens on defense, and when possible they like to lean on the run game to sustain offensive success. The numbers in Madden 16 back that up. Buffalo holds a slight numerical edge over the Texans, having an 82 mark compared to Houston's 79. But, considering, that's pretty close to equal.
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The similarities continue from an individual standpoint, as there is a pretty even mix between the teams when it comes to the best players on the game. Of the top six rated players in this matchup, three are Bills and three are Texans. As always, J.J. Watt tops the list, with his 99 mark standing head and shoulders above all. We take Watt for granted during these matchups, but being a 99 overall in Madden 16 is nothing to sneeze at. As a matter of fact, he's one of only eight players on the game to be rated this high. And, he's one of only two defensive players (Von Miller being the other) to reach that level. That's pretty impressive.
I know I just said the similarities continue, but really, they do. Both teams have a highly ranked defensive player (Watt and Marcell Dareus for Buffalo) and both have additional defensive tackles that are pretty good (Kyle Williams and Vince Wilfork). Both teams also have great wide receivers that played at Clemson (DeAndre Hopkins and Sammy Watkins).
The quarterback situation is close as well. Buffalo starter Tyrod Taylor is an 84 overall, while Texans head man Brian Hoyer is an 81. To Hoyer's credit (and Madden's), he's improved five points over the course of the season.
Madden Matchup: Bills 35, Texans 13
Geez Madden, what a buzzkill. Not only did the game predict their first Texans loss in over a month, but they predicted a Bills whitewashing. After jumping out to a 7-0 lead, Madden had Buffalo outscoring the Texans 35-6 from that point. A 14-point fourth quarter by the virtual Bills put the nail in the coffin.
Well Madden, I thought we were in this together. Whatever. I hope you are wrong.
