Madden 20 simulation: Carlos Hyde leads Chiefs to close win over Steelers

Week 2 of the NFL preseason is here, and we are asking Madden 20 to help us figure out what to expect when the Chiefs visit the Steelers.

Last week, our Madden simulator predicted a Chiefs win with a final score of 34-16 with a lot of defense and flawless play from quarterback Patrick Mahomes. The real game was a true beatdown of the Cincinnati Bengals with a final score of 38-17, and Mahomes was better than the simulation could have predicted.

This week’s game was on the road against the Pittsburgh Steelers where the Chiefs offense lit up the scoreboard, but the defense could not stop the equally high-powered offense of Ben Roethlisberger and company.

The Chiefs won the coin toss and deferred to the second half, which meant they kicked the ball off to the Steelers. The Chiefs, who struggled on third down last week, also had similar issues to start against the Steelers. The combination of running back Jaylen Samuels and wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster were too much for the Chiefs defense and they gave up an early touchdown that gave the Steelers a 7-0 lead.

Patrick Mahomes and the “Legion of Zoom” marched down the field in response, but they were stopped in the red zone. The Chiefs settled for a field goal from Harrison Butker. This drive may not have ended up with a touchdown, but Patrick Mahomes once again showed the ability to spread the ball to Tyreek Hill, Demarcus Robinson and Sammy Watkins on the drive as well as tight end Travis Kelce.

The next drive the Chiefs defense shut down the Steelers in a quick three and out, giving the Chiefs offense great field position. Patrick Mahomes would not be denied twice. Mahomes found Kelce over the middle and the Chiefs held an early 10-7 lead going into the next quarter.

The second quarter was not good for the Chiefs defense, as they surrendered 14 points to the Steelers. Big Ben picked them apart, and they could not get off the field due to costly penalties. Fortunately Mahomes kept pace with another dominating drive that ended in another Kelce touchdown.

From there, the Chiefs were looking to get another three and out before halftime. They did even better. Roethlisberger was intercepted by Darron Lee which provided Mahomes with a short field. Unfortunately, once again he was not able to finish the drive with a touchdown. After another Butker field goal. The Chiefs would go into halftime down 20-21, and this would also be the end of the night for the Chiefs’ starters.

Chad Henne led the Chiefs offense after the half but did little with his opening drive. Rookie standout Darwin Thompson received a couple carries, but the drive ended with a Chiefs punt. Quarterback Mason Rudolph led the Steelers for their first offensive drive of the second half, but the drive ended in another three and out. Henne and the offense looked to be headed to another three and out on a third and seven when Carlos Hyde broke free for a 57-yard run for a Chiefs touchdown. This was the biggest play by either team all night. The Chiefs went for two where they handed the ball off to Hyde who converted the two-point attempt giving the Chiefs a 28-21 point lead.

The Steelers offense would not be able to respond. Rudolph put together a good drive but the Chiefs defense was able to stall them at midfield which forced them to punt. After both teams swapped three and outs, the Steelers were able to score a touchdown on a Rudolph pass to tight end Zach Gentry, tying the game going into the fourth quarter.

Both offenses sputtered in the final segment, but it was the Chiefs offense led by Henne and Hyde that would put a drive together to close out the game with time expiring, and the Chiefs would go on to win on a Butker field goal.

Final Score

31-28 Chiefs.

Game Ball

The game ball was easy to give out this week. It goes to running back Carlos Hyde who finished the night with 7 carries for 83 yards and a touchdown. The battle for the starting spot is heating up, and Damien Williams should be looking over his shoulder.

The game ball almost went to quarterback Patrick Mahomes who ended up finishing with a stat line of 14-22 for 156 yards and 2 touchdowns, but it was the two stalls in the red zone that kept him from getting the game ball. I think we can all agree we expect more out of the MVP.

Biggest Surprise

The biggest surprise is once again going to be the defense, but this time it was because all phases of the Chiefs defense struggled this week against the offensive scheme of the Steelers. This makes me feel uneasy because this was against a playoff-caliber team, and once again the same problems reared their ugly head. This was the only week two of the preseason, but this defense still has a lot of work to do.

The Chiefs travel to Pittsburgh to play the Steelers Saturday, August 17th 7:30 Eastern on NFL Network. What do you think? Will, there be a shootout or will there be another outcome, let me know in the comments. Go Chiefs.