User:NazaSuzuki/2022 New England Patriots season

This is the inaugural Franchise season in Madden NFL 23. The Patriots posted an impressive 14–3 regular season record, behind a solid passing attack from Mac Jones and a record-setting rushing campaign by Damien Harris. The Patriots went into the playoffs as the 1st seed in the conference, and cruised through their two home playoff games to get to the Super Bowl, where they faced their former quarterback Tom Brady. Mac Jones led a clutch drive in the last minute to set up a game-winning field goal from Nick Folk, giving the Patriots their seventh championship, and the first successful franchise championship in Madden 23.

Week 1: at Miami Dolphins
The Dolphins tied the game with a field goal with 1:52 left in the 4th quarter. Mac Jones led a 9-play, 69-yard drive that led to Nick Folk kicking a 22-yard field goal as time expired, giving the Patriots their first win of the season.

Week 2: at Pittsburgh Steelers
The Steelers scored 14 points early after two Mac Jones interceptions in the first quarter. However, the Patriots would outscore the Steelers 37–6 over the rest of the game.

Week 3: vs. Baltimore Ravens
The Patriots scored 17 straight points in the fourth quarter to pull away from the Ravens.

Week 4: at Green Bay Packers
In a rainy game at Lambeau Field, the Patriots defense held the Packers offense to just 14 points in a 28–14 victory. Mac Jones set a career high in passer rating with 140.1.

Week 5: vs. Detroit Lions
A late Rhamondre Stevenson rushing touchdown sealed the game for the Patriots, bringing their record up to 5–0.

Week 6: at Cleveland Browns
Three interceptions from Mac Jones helped lead to the Patriots' first defeat of the season. The usually sturdy New England defense struggled to stop the Browns' offensive attack.

Week 7: vs. Chicago Bears
Damien Harris had a career game, rushing for 208 yards and 3 touchdowns, leading the Patriots to their sixth win of the season. The Patriots had two 80+ yard plays: the first play from scrimmage was an 87-yard touchdown pass from Mac Jones to Nelson Agholor, and Harris ran for an 80-yard touchdown in the third quarter.

Week 8: at New York Jets
Mac Jones completed his first 10 passes, including a 65-yard touchdown pass to Kendrick Bourne, leading the Patriots to 21 first-half points and the eventual victory.

Week 9: vs. Indianapolis Colts
The Patriots dominated most of the game, but the Colts scored 14 unanswered points in the fourth quarter, partly due to a Mac Jones pick-six. The Colts had an opportunity to tie the game late, but Matt Ryan was intercepted by Adrian Phillips to seal the game. The Patriots went into the bye week with a league-best 8–1 record.

Week 11: vs. New York Jets
After the Jets went into the second quarter with a 10–7 lead, the Patriots would score 31 unanswered points.

Week 12: at Minnesota Vikings
Thanksgiving Day games

The Patriots exploded for 20 points in the second quarter, while the defense kept the Vikings out of the end zone for the entire game. The win gave the Patriots a double-digit win season for the 19th time in the last 20 seasons.

Week 13: vs. Buffalo Bills
The Bills pulled out an exciting, back-and-forth snow game in overtime. Mac Jones threw a 7-yard touchdown pass to Davante Parker with 2:20 left to give the Patriots a 31–24 lead. However, Josh Allen answered with a 36-yard touchdown pass to Jamison Crowder to tie the game at 31 with 1:00 left. The Bills won the overtime coin toss and proceeded to march down the field, winning on a James Cook 4-yard touchdown run.

Week 14: at Arizona Cardinals
Despite a career game from Mac Jones, the Patriots fell to the Cardinals as a result of poor defense and four turnovers on offense. The Patriots fell behind 17–0 in the first quarter, but went into halftime only losing 27–21. In the second half, the Patriots had multiple opportunities to take the lead, but they could not take advantage.

Week 15: at Las Vegas Raiders
The Patriots exploded for 28 points in the second quarter as they dominated Josh McDaniels's new team, the Raiders. The Patriots offense accumulated over 500 yards.

Week 16: vs. Cincinnati Bengals
The Patriots offense again showed out, putting up 598 yards and 6 touchdowns en route to an easy victory. The Bengals started the game up 10–0, but the Patriots offense once again exploded in the second quarter, scoring 24 points. With the win, the Patriots clinched a playoff spot.

Week 17: vs. Miami Dolphins
In a snowy game in which both teams wore their throwback uniforms, the Patriots shutout the Dolphins, winning 31–0. With the Bills losing the same day, the Patriots clinched the AFC East. With the Chargers also losing that day, the Patriots leapt into the #1 seed.

Week 18: at Buffalo Bills
In another snowy game, the Patriots avenged their earlier loss to the Bills by cruising to a 38–17 victory. With the win, the Patriots clinched the #1 seed in the AFC and a first-round bye in the playoffs. Meanwhile, with the loss, the Bills fell out of the playoffs entirely. With 181 yards rushing, Damien Harris set a new single-season record for rushing yards with 2,122.

Bracket
* Indicates overtime victory

AFC Divisional Playoffs: vs. (7) Denver Broncos
In their fifth postseason meeting in the 21st century, the Patriots offense dominated, scoring on every drive and never punting in the entire game. Mac Jones posted a career-high passer rating of 151.6, throwing for 293 yards and 4 touchdowns to four different receivers. The running game also worked extremely well, as Damien Harris put up 164 rushing yards and 1 rushing touchdown, as well as 1 receiving touchdown.

On the first play from scrimmage, Broncos quarterback Russell Wilson threw a 73-yard bomb to Tim Patrick for a touchdown. However, the Patriots quickly answered, generating a scoring drive on their own, capped off with a 13-yard touchdown pass from Mac Jones to Damien Harris. The Broncos were forced to punt on their next drive, which led to the Patriots driving down the field again and scoring on a 1-yard Harris run. On the next Broncos drive, they faced a 4th and 2 from the New England 43-yard line. Wilson threw a pass to his tight end Albert Okwuegbunam that was dropped, forcing a turnover on downs. The Patriots quickly capitalized, putting together a 5-play drive that ended with another 1-yard Harris touchdown run. The Broncos were able to answer with a long scoring drive, resulting in a 1-yard Javonte Williams touchdown run. With under 2 minutes to go, the Patriots were able to put a drive together. With under a minute left to go, Jones threw a pass to a wide open Hunter Henry that resulted in a 46-yard touchdown. The Broncos got the ball back before the half, but failed to put up a score. The Patriots went into halftime leading 28-14.

The Patriots received the ball to begin the second half. They immediately put together yet another touchdown drive, ending with a 14-yard touchdown pass from Jones to Kendrick Bourne, putting the Patriots up 35-14. Wilson and the Broncos were able to respond, scoring on a 12-yard touchdown pass to Williams. The Patriots yet again put together a long drive, but were stopped on third down for the first time all game. Nick Folk kicked a 49-yard field goal.to give the Patriots a three-possession lead at 38-21. The Broncos were able to score again, with Wilson throwing a 5-yard touchdown pass to Jerry Jeudy early in the fourth quarter, which cut the deficit down to 10 points. However, Jones led the Patriots on another long scoring drive, capped off with a 3rd down pass to Nelson Agholor for a 17-yard touchdown. The Broncos got the ball back with under 4 minutes to go, and on the last play of the game for Denver, Wilson threw an interception to Patriots linebacker Josh Uche.

AFC Championship Game: vs. (3) Baltimore Ravens
For the second straight game, the Patriots offense scored on every drive and did not punt once, as they dominated the Ravens 38-20.

The Ravens received the ball first, but were forced to punt. Mac Jones then led a drive down the field, eventually throwing a 32-yard touchdown pass to Jonnu Smith to give the Patriots the early lead. The Ravens then went 3-and-out, which led to another long Patriots scoring drive, capped off with a 14-yard touchdown pass from Jones to Nelson Agholor. The Ravens were then finally able to put together a drive, but they were stopped at the New England 32-yard line, leading to a 49-yard field goal from Justin Tucker. The Patriots were then able to put together yet another score on a long drive then ended with a 2-yard Damien Harris run with under 2 minutes left in the half. Lamar Jackson led a drive into the Patriots red zone, but the Ravens settled for a field goal before halftime. The Patriots went into the half with a 21-6 lead.

The Patriots received the ball to start the second half, and the offense made quick work of the Ravens defense, resulting in another 2-yard Damien Harris touchdown run, giving the Patriots a 28-6 lead. The Ravens were forced to punt on the next drive, which set up yet another Patriots scoring drive, ending with a 10-yard Mac Jones run for a touchdown. The Patriots now had a commanding 35-6 lead. Going into the fourth quarter, Jackson was able to lead two garbage-time touchdown drives, and the Patriots added a field goal, making the final score 38-20.

Super Bowl LVII: vs. (N2) Tampa Bay Buccaneers
One of the most dramatic leadups to a Super Bowl ever paid off in one of the most dramatic games in Super Bowl history. The 14-3 Patriots, led by coach Bill Belichick and quarterback Mac Jones, faced off against the 12-5 Buccaneers, led by the Patriots former quarterback Tom Brady, in what was speculated to be his final game. The game was low-scoring until the fourth quarter, when both teams traded points. Jones led an 11-play, 64-yard drive to the Tampa Bay 8-yard line, where Nick Folk kicked the game-winning field goal as time expired, to give the Patriots their seventh Super Bowl win. Damien Harris, with his 123 yards rushing and 2 touchdowns, was awarded with the Super Bowl MVP.

The Buccaneers received the ball to begin the game. The Buccaneers, led by Brady, went on a 13-play, 75-yard scoring drive, on which Brady converted two 3rd and 10s. Leonard Fournette ran in for a 1-yard touchdown to give the Buccaneers the early led. The Patriots - who by this point had not punted during the entire postseason - got the ball and drove down the field. However, once at the Tampa Bay 13-yard line, Jones threw a pass into double-coverage that was intercepted with one hand by Buccaneers cornerback Sean Murphy-Bunting at the end of the first quarter. However, the Buccaneers failed to capitalize off the turnover, punting the ball back to the Patriots, who once again drove down field. This time, the Patriots were able to finish the scoring drive with a 2-yard Harris run for a touchdown, tying the game midway through the second quarter. The Buccaneers then went three-and-out on their next drive. This was followed by a Patriots drive into Tampa Bay territory that ended with a Nick Folk 41-yard field goal near the end of the half. The Patriots went into halftime with a 10-7 lead.

The Patriots received the ball to open the second half. They produced a long drive that took up over half the quarter and got inside the Tampa Bay 10-yard line, but the offense stalled, leading to a 23-yard Folk field goal to give the Patriots a 13-7 lead. Brady then led a 12-play drive that took up the rest of the quarter, finishing with a Brady 8-yard touchdown pass to Mike Evans on the first play of the fourth quarter. The Ryan Succop extra point gave the Buccaneers a 14-13 lead. Jones then answered with an 11-play scoring drive that ended with a Damien Harris 2-yard touchdown run. The Patriots went for the two-point conversion and succeeded with a Jones pass to Hunter Henry, giving the Patriots a 21-14 lead. With under seven minutes left, Brady had a chance to tie the game. He tore through the Patriots defense with his arm, leading a 10-play drive that led to Chris Godwin catching an 8-yard touchdown pass from Brady. With just over two minutes left, the Buccaneers had tied the game at 21. However, the Patriots still had plenty of time to answer. The Patriots were able to advance down the field, where they faced a 3rd and 7 at their own 46-yard line with just 1:26 left to go. Jones threw a post route to DeVante Parker in the middle of the field for 20 yards, getting the ball to the Buccaneers 34-yard line. With the Patriots now within makeable field goal range, the Buccaneers began to burn their timeouts. Two plays later, Harris ran to the left and picked up the first down, but lost possession of the ball. With the ball loose on the ground, Buccaneers cornerback Antoine Winfield fought with Patriots tight end Jonnu Smith to recover the ball. At first glance, it seemed as though Winfield was able to recover the ball in-bounds, but the referees ruled that Winfield has recovered the ball out of bounds, which meant the Patriots kept possession. The play was reviewed, but the replays were not enough to overturn the call. The Buccaneers were furious with the call; Fox rules analyst Mike Pereira believed that the ball should have most likely gone to the Buccaneers. However, the Patriots kept the ball, and ran the clock down to 2 seconds, setting up Folk for a game-winning field goal. The Patriots lined up for the kick from the Tampa Bay 8-yard line, making it a 25-yard kick. Folk kicked the ball through the uprights as time expired. It marked the third time in Super Bowl history that the game was won on the final play, with the previous two times also being Patriots wins.

With the win, the Patriots won their seventh Super Bowl, making it a new NFL record. The Buccaneers lost their first Super Bowl in franchise history, while Brady lost his fourth Super Bowl in 11 tries. Bill Belichick won his seventh Super Bowl as a head coach and his ninth Super Bowl overall, adding to the NFL record.