Carolina Panthers will defeat Denver Broncos in Super Bowl 50 says Microsoft and Madden 16

Super Bowl 50 is almost here! While my beloved New York Jets are not in the big game, I will still tune in. Why? Not only should it be exciting football, but it is a shared social event. Many people watch -- even those that aren't NFL fans -- for things like the commercials and the overall camaraderie and competition. Oh, there is a lot of snack-eating too!

This Sunday, February 7, the two competing teams are the Carolina Panthers and Denver Broncos. The former will be the champions. Well, at least according to predictions by both Microsoft's Bing and the Madden 16 video game. Will they be right?

"In Sunday’s title game, the Bing Predicts models project 17-1 Carolina to win the Big Game with 64 percent probability. During the regular season, Carolina was the league’s #1 scoring offense and #6 scoring defense, while Denver was the #20 scoring offense and #4 scoring defense. Carolina’s rush offense was #2 vs #17 for Denver, and Denver’s rush defense was #3 while Carolina’s was #4. Both defenses are stout, so our models expect Carolina’s much stronger offense to be the difference, becoming the first 18-win champion in 30 years", says Walter Sun, Bing Predicts Team Lead.

Famed video game maker, Electronic Arts, explains that its Madden 16 video game "has tabbed the Carolina Panthers as the next world champions, defeating the Denver Broncos 24 - 20. For the first time ever, fans can get in on the action for themselves by heading over to the Madden NFL 16 Super Bowl Prediction Hub and create their own outcome based on a variety of factors. Fans can then share their dream Super Bowl 50 outcome with the hashtag #MyMaddenPrediction".

Before you run out to place a bet, remember -- these are only predictions. While both Bing and Madden have good track records, past performance does not guarantee future results. In other words, Denver can absolutely still win the game. Heck, one injury to a key player can change everything.

While the winner is still up in the air, one thing is for sure -- it should be an exciting quarterback battle between the elder Peyton Manning and the younger Cam Newton.

Who do you think will win? Tell me in the comments.