Madden 22: Our 2021 NFL season sim results in some wild predictions

Buffalo Bills

10-7, 1st in AFC East (No. 3 seed in AFC)

According to the Madden 22 sim, the Buffalo Bills will regress a bit from last year but still do enough to claim first place in the AFC East. Some of this regression could simply be attributed to the fact that the other teams in the division have gotten better — including the New England Patriots. Never doubt Bill Belichick.

Josh Allen had another solid season with 4,160 yards and 30 touchdowns to just 11 interceptions. Again, Madden doesn’t do a tremendous job with dual-threat quarterbacks, so he only rushed for 258 yards. The biggest uncertainty with the Bills is whether or not Allen can repeat his performance from last season. This team will only go as far as he can carry them. But he’s got some good help at receiver this year.

Here are some of the noteworthy stats for the receivers:

• Stefon Diggs: 89 receptions, 1,172 yards, 10 TDs
• Cole Beasley: 63 receptions, 790 yards, 3 TDs
• Emmanuel Sanders: 70 receptions, 676 yards, 3 TDs
• Dawson Knox: 74 receptions, 831 yards, 10 TDs

While the Patriots are always scary, the Bills enter the season as the clear-cut favorites. Madden believes they’ll enter the playoffs as the No. 3 seed in the AFC, which I don’t think is a longshot at all.