Welcome back to another season of Madden-based Green Bay Packers predictions!
Madden 27 become available about a week and a half ago, and I decided that I wanted to run it back.
While our last sim was pretty inaccurate in comparison to the actual outcome, it’s still fun to see what the game thinks is in store for the season before it begins.
Keep reading to find out how EA Sports predicts the Packers will perform in 2026.
The Setup
Unlike last year, I had to make some changes to the game’s default configuration for the team.
I removed Micah Parsons from the lineup until week six, which is his current anticipated return date, as well as tight end Luke Musgrave.
It’s still uncertain how long Musgrave’s neck injury will keep him sidelined, and as such, I didn’t play him at all in the sim.
You could also make the argument to bench Josh Jacobs, as he could be suspended by the NFL to start the year, but in this scenario, I left him as the starter.
The only other changes I made were to move Brandon Cisse to CB3, and to make Jayden Reed the primary slot receiver.
Although Cisse will likely start for the Green Bay Packers this year, I only elevated him to third on the depth chart behind Keisean Nixon and Benjamin St-Juste due to his overall.
Nixon and St-Juste are 79 and 78 overall respectively, and I felt that starting Cisse at 73 overall would skew some game results.
As for Reed, I’m not sure why Madden doesn’t put him in the slot automatically, as that’s been his role in Green Bay for some time now.
For consistency, all games were simulated on All-Pro difficulty, and I delegated all weekly tasks to the CPU.
An Early Runway
The most important part of the Green Bay Packers 2026 season might be the stretch that they play without Micah Parsons, and in the world of Madden, those first five weeks were a smashing success.
The Green and Gold opened the season with a convincing 38-21 win over the rival Vikings, then followed it up with another double digit win over the Jets in week two.
Running back Josh Jacobs had nineteen carries for one-hundred and eighteen yards and two touchdowns at MetLife, which started a streak of three straight games with over one hundred yards rushing, mirroring a pattern from our 2025 sim.
Madden seems to be a lot higher on the Packers running game than consensus, and with how we struggled in that aspect of the game in real life last season, it’d be nice to see Jacobs put up even a fraction of these numbers.
Green Bay suffered its first loss in week three against the Falcons, underperforming to the tune of 23-15.
No specific stats stood out for the opposing team, but the in-game Packers seemed to take up the mantle of playing down to their competition.
They followed that up with a close 23-20 win over the Buccaneers, and with the first matchup against the Bears looming, the Packers were 3-1.
At this time, Chicago was struggling, heading into the contest at 1-3, with each of their losses being by ten points or more.
I think that’s pretty unrealistic compared to how the season will actually start for them, but I certainly wouldn’t be disappointed to see the cover boy’s team regress this much.
The Packers proceeded to beat the Bears in another instant classic, prevailing 38-30 in a game where Jordan Love threw for three-hundred and twenty-five yards.
One-hundred and nine of those yards came on behalf of Jayden Reed.
Prior to Micah’s return, the Green Bay Packers sat at 4-1.
Prior to the Bye
In 2026, the Packers have a much later bye than past seasons, and in the five game stretch leading up to it and following Micah’s return, Madden has the team going 3-2.
The first of those losses came against the Cowboys, where both quarterbacks threw for three touchdowns in a 33-28 barnburner similar to their 2025 contest.
Javon Hargrave fractured his foot, resulting in the first major injury for Green Bay, and it was an omen of things to come.
Following decisive 40-25 division win over the Lions, the Packers again fell against Carolina, seeing some of their past demons come to light.
In the same matchup that saw Tucker Kraft tear his ACL in 2025, four starters were injured for Green Bay, including Devonte Wyatt, Evan Williams, Javon Bullard, and Sean Rhyan.
Wyatt was sent to IR, and the next two victories over the Patriots and Vikings were incredibly low scoring, finishing at 20-14 and 21-15 respectively.
Heading into the week eleven bye, the Packers led the NFC at 7-3.
Strong Closers
After a very promising start to their season, the Green Bay Packers were finally able to finish.
Over the last seven games, the team went 5-2.
Although they lost to the juggernaut Rams 24-20, the Packers were able to pick up three consecutive wins afterward.
Against the Saints, Jordan Love threw for three-hundred and sixty-one yards and two touchdowns, supported by hundred yard outings from both Jayden Reed and Matthew Golden.
Next, the Packers downed a tough contender in the Bills, 27-24, which led into Malik Willis’ much anticipated return to Green Bay.
Matthew Golden had another amazing game, recording seven catches for one-hundred and fifteen yards and a touchdown in a win over the Phins, but it was Willis’ two interceptions, courtesy of Xavier McKinney, that sealed the 26-14 result.
In the second matchup against the Bears, the Packers split, losing 41-39 in another heartstopper, despite one-hundred yard outings for Josh Jacobs, Matthew Golden, and Jayden Reed.
Aaron Banks broke his thumb in that game, leaving a hole in the offensive line heading into the playoffs, and Green Bay finished the season going 1-1 against the Texans and Lions.
The Green Bay Packers regular season ended in an 11-6 record, drawing a matchup with the Detroit in the wildcard, which was nearly the same result as our 2025 sim.
Postseason Woes
Unfortunately for the virtual Packers, their struggles in the postseason continued.
After an even series against their rival in the regular season, the Packers suffered a tough 20-14 loss to the Lions in the Wild Card round.
Jordan Love underperformed, throwing for just 190 yards with an interception and a touchdown, and the defense struggled to stop Jahmyr Gibbs, who had nineteen carries for one-hundred and fourteen yards.
For the second straight season, playoff disappointment was king.
In the Super Bowl, the Eagles defeated the Texans.
Final Thoughts
All things considered, Madden 27 believes that the Green Bay Packers should have a pretty successful 2026-2027 season.
Jordan Love was able to replicate his impressive 2025, throwing for 4,132 yards with 25 touchdowns and 6 interceptions, and Matthew Golden broke out to lead the team with 1,274 yards and 10 touchdowns.
Josh Jacobs was second in the league in rushing with 1,551 yards, and led the crop in touchdowns with 16.
Jayden Reed also produced a thousand yard season of his own, but perhaps most importantly, rookie kicker Trey Smack went 35-38 with no missed extra points.
Despite those numbers however, the footnote remained the same.
The Packers couldn’t produce in the playoffs, and the real-life team will be trying its hardest to break that stigma this season.
Although Madden 27’s logic is far from perfect, if the team can reproduce some of its output, they should have a fighting chance at it.
