Spoiler alert (maybe): The New England Patriots will win Super Bowl LII (maybe), helping quarterback Tom Brady to his fifth Most Valuable Player award. And that's a maybe, too.

That is the prediction from EA Sports' Madden NFL 18 football simulation program. And historically, there is more certainty than maybe behind that forecast: EA Sports started using the simulation in 2004. It has amassed a record of 14-10 over that period.

But just as Madden NFL has improved over those decades in its visual presentation, it has also wised up its artificial intelligence: It is 10-4 over the past 14 games.

The first quarter of Sunday's game will end with the Philadelphia Eagles leading New England 7-3, the touchdown coming on a run by Jay Ajayi. New England's three-pointer will come late in the quarter.

But then Brady hits Rob Gronkowski and Brandin Cooks with touchdown passes in the second quarter, while the Eagles can only muster a field goal just before the halftime show.

The teams return to the field, and the Patriots find the Eagles have regrouped and begin blitzing Brady. Two Brady sacks later, the Eagles force an interception, which quarterback Nick Foles turns into a touchtown pass to Alshon Jeffrey.

That ends the third quarter with the Patriots trailing.

Brady manages to bring the team ahead with another touchdown pass, this one to Danny Amendola. The New England defense keeps the score stagnant as the fourth quarter ends: 24-20 New England.

The software ran more than 100 Super Bowl situations, with the Eagles winning 48 percent of the time. EA software developers said an upset could happen: In 55 of the games, a last-minute field goal or touchdown would have changed the outcome. Two of the games were decided in double overtime.

Brady finished the game with 342 passing yards, according to the simulation, while Gronkowski piled up the most reception yards — 107 with four catches.

Who wins aside, the simulation predicts you'll see a hard-fought game of inches. One team will want the victory more than the other. Players will give 110 percent while they play the full 60 minutes and are sure to take care of the football.

Now if EA Sports can only come up with software to eliminate football cliches.

Contact Lonnie Brown at ledgerdatabase@ aol.com.