Madden Simulation: Banner Night at Arrowhead Stadium

Welcome back to Arrowhead Pride Madden Simulations. If you’re new to the series, we’re simulating the Kansas City Chiefs’ season schedule using EA Sports Madden 25. We’ve set up lineups to reflect what happens on game day, so if a player gets injured, they won’t play in the EA Universe. Enjoy!

STOP!

If you want to watch the simulation without spoilers, start the video above. If you can’t see it, Click here.

The following happened in our simulation:

First quarter

The Baltimore Ravens received the first kickoff under the new rules. The Ravens scored a touchdown on their first drive after Lamar Jackson hit tight end Mark Andrews 27 yards from the goal. Derrick Henry, the new Ravens’ running back, ran the ball twice for 33 yards on the drive.

Mecole Hardman had four catches for 64 yards on the Chiefs’ opening drive, a 10-play drive that was capped by a seven-yard touchdown run by Rashee Rice.

End of the first quarter: Chiefs 7, Ravens 7

Second quarter

After not playing a single snap on the Chiefs’ first drive, Xavier worked Worthy into the offensive plan on the second drive. After helping complete two short first downs, Andy Reid called Worthy’s number inside the Ravens’ 10-yard line. Worthy caught a five-yard touchdown pass from Mahomes.

The Ravens’ ensuing offensive play wasn’t perfect, but it did result in a touchdown. A couple of delay of game penalties and a holding penalty in the Chiefs’ red zone could have cost the Ravens dearly. A big first down catch by Zay Jones was followed by a touchdown by Nelson Agholor.

A wild turn of events occurred when Drue Tranquill intercepted Jackson with 38 seconds left in the half. On the next play, Mahomes was intercepted by Marcus Williams.

Justin Tucker missed a 55-yard field goal with 12 seconds left, which was enough for Mahomes to put Harrison Butker within field goal range and give the Chiefs a three-point lead at halftime.

End of the second quarter: Chiefs 17, Ravens 14

Third quarter

Reid’s second-half script was executed perfectly. A 10-play, 79-yard drive that took six minutes off the clock was impressive to start the third quarter. Justin Watson led the offense on that drive and caught three passes – including one for a touchdown.

“Chiefs Kingdom” was heard loudly on banner night when the Ravens were assessed their sixth delay of game penalty during the quarter.

Before the end of the quarter, Mahomes was able to throw his fourth touchdown pass of the evening to a fourth different receiver – this time it was Travis Kelce.

End of the third quarter: Chiefs 31, Ravens 17

Fourth quarter

Trent McDuffie set off fireworks early in the fourth quarter by intercepting a pass from Jackson and returning it to the house to give the Ravens three touchdowns.

The Ravens scored two touchdowns on long consecutive drives that took up three-quarters of the time in this quarter.

The Chiefs punted with 1:45 left in the game as the Ravens still had a timeout.

Jackson threw a 45-yard pass into the end zone and reduced the lead to one point. The Ravens tried two more points and converted the two-point conversion. Without Mark Andrews in the fourth quarter, the Ravens would have had no chance of getting into this position.

Final score: Ravens 39, Chiefs 38

Notable statistics

Lamar Jackson 47/57, 544 yards, 4 TD, 2 INT

Patrick Mahomes 37/45, 353 yards, 4 TD, 1 INT

Derrick Henry 9 tackles, 33 yards, 1 TD, 9 receptions, 47 yards

Isiah Pacheco 6 attacks, 32 yards

Mark Andrews 16 receptions, 214 yards, 1 TD

Travis Kelce 11 receptions, 85 yards, 1 TD

Xavier Worthy 8 receptions, 86 yards, 1 TD

Justin Watson 7 receptions, 44 yards, 1 TD

Rashee Rice 6 receptions, 67 yards, 1 TD

Rashod Bateman 6 receptions, 106 yards, 1 TD

Mecole Hardman Jr. 4 receptions, 64 yards

Justin Reid 15 total, 9 solo, 1 TFL

George Karlaftis 3 total, 2 solo, 1 sack

Nick Bolton 9 total, 4 solo, 1 sack

Drue Tranquill 9 overall, 4 solo, 1 INT

Trent McDuffie 10 overall, 3 solo, 1 INT

In Week 2, the Chiefs will be back at Arrowhead Stadium to face the Cincinnati Bengals. Kickoff is at 3:25 p.m. Arrowhead time. Before that, we’ll see how the game plays out in the EA Universe.