Alex Smith was once the beleaguered quarterback of the declining San Francisco 49ers' franchise, but since last season's playoff performance against the Saints, he has become a star in the making.
After his epic Sunday Night Football performance against the Detroit Lions, fans and media personal alike will be speaking of his MVP chances, according to a Madden NFL '13 simulation of tonight's game.
The 1-0 49er, fresh off a huge 30-22 road win over the Green Bay Packers, dominated the Detroit Lions 42-17 to improve to 2-0 on the season.
Smith completed 26 of 32 passes for 396 yards and 4 touchdowns. Randy Moss in his second game back from retirement pulled in 14 receptions for 132 yards and two touchdown.
The 49ers displayed their dominant defense that powered them to the NFC championship game last season; the 49ers suffocated the Lion's run game. Detroit was only able to rush for 57 yards on the ground, led by running back Kevin Smith, who carried the ball 23 times for only 37 yards and no touchdowns.
Detroit quarterback Matthew Stafford was stifled for the better part of the game. He tossed two first-half interceptions to 49ers' defensive players Patrick Willis and Carlos Rogers. The turnovers led to two 49ers touchdown, giving San Francisco a 14-0 lead going into the second quarter.
The 49ers took the ball at the start of the second, and drove the ball down the field for their third touchdown, a six-yard rush by Frank Gore. The 15-play drive took nearly 9 minutes off of the game clock and gave the 49ers a 21-0 lead.
Stafford led an 80-yard, nine-play, touchdown drive that included three passes of at least 15 yards including a 32-yard bomb to his receiver Calvin Johnson in the back of the endzone.
After Detroit's' defense stopped the 49ers on a quick three-and-out, Stafford would lead the Lions right back into the endzone tossing a 12-yard pass to Johnson for the score. The Lions went into the locker room down 21-14.
In the second-half San Francisco's Pro-Bowl tight end Vernon Davis caught six passes for 80 yards, including two touchdown grabs, one for 18-yard and another for a 3 yard touchdown.
The 49ers went into the final quarter up 42-14 and only allowed Detroit to score a field goal for the rest of the game. The 49ers defeat the Detroit Lions by a score of 42-17 in week 2 of the NFL season, according to EA Sports' Madden NFL '13.
What do you think about the simulation? Did Madden NFL '13 get it right? Last Thursday the game correctly predicted the winner of the Bears versus Packers game, but was way off on the games final score. Read that simulation here.