As part of the Xbox NFL Player Charity Challenge, Seahawks wideout Doug Baldwin topped Cardinals cornerback Patrick Peterson in a game of Madden 17 earlier this week before the two players' teams meet on Sunday Night Football. Photos courtesy Microsoft.
Before their two teams battle in front of a national television audience on Sunday Night Football this weekend, Seahawks receiver Doug Baldwin and Cardinals cornerback Patrick Peterson squared off in a friendly game of Madden 17 in the initial round of the Xbox NFL Player Charity Challenge.
The two players were mic'd up at local Microsoft Store's earlier this week, with Baldwin in nearby Bellevue, Washington and Peterson down in Scottsdale, Arizona, and competed live online at twitch.com for all to see. Baldwin, who's playing in the tournament for the Southern Youth Sports Association in Pensacola, Florida, got the best of the All-Pro Peterson, winning by a final score of 24-19.
"It's a program I grew up in called Southern Youth Sports Association," Baldwin said of the organization he's representing. "Basically they take the inner-city kids and they give them an avenue to get off the streets. We do sports programs, educational programs. They do everything, they cater to the children and the city. So that's what I'm playing for, that's what I'm going to win for."
The matchup gets going around the 36-minute mark of this video. Highlights include Baldwin, who of course played as the Seahawks against the Peterson-controlled Cardinals, passing for long touchdowns to Tyler Lockett and Jimmy Graham.
"My game plan didn't come to fruition," said Peterson, who also had to sing a bit of Taylor Swift on Twitter as a result of a side-wager with Baldwin. "But hopefully the game plan comes together Sunday night. We'll see what happens."
Baldwin's next match is set for 5 p.m. PT on Nov. 15, when he'll face the winner of a Nov. 1 game between New England Patriots safety Devin McCourty and New York Jets running back Matt Forte.
The Xbox NFL Player Charity Challenge includes eight total players, as Baldwin, Peterson, McCourty and Forte are joined by the Denver Broncos' Von Miller, Miami Dolphins' Ndamukong Suh, Carolina Panthers' Greg Olsen, and Los Angeles Rams' Aaron Donald. Over seven weeks, players compete head-to-head in a single-elimation bracket, with Microsoft donating $51,000 - in honor of Super Bowl LI - along with Surface Pro 4 and Xbox One S devices to the winner's charity.
