As part of the Xbox NFL Player Charity Challenge, Seattle Seahawks wideout Doug Baldwin topped Patriots defensive back Devin McCourty in a game of Madden 17 on Tuesday, November 15 after the two players' teams met on Sunday Night Football in New England. Photos courtesy Microsoft.
Two days after hauling in three touchdowns in his team's 31-24 win over the Patriots, one of which proved to be the game-winner, Seattle wideout Doug Baldwin defeated New England defensive back Devin McCourty with another victory-clinching connection from Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson, this one coming in the digital space, as Baldwin and McCourty faced off in the semi-final round of the Madden Xbox NFL Player Charity Challenge.
Baldwin used a fourth-quarter touchdown with less than a minute to play coupled with a fourth-down stop of a threatening Patriots offense to top McCourty, 21-14, and move on to the tournament's championship round on December 6, when Baldwin will face the winner of a November 29 Madden matchup between Los Angeles Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald and Carolina Panthers tight end Greg Olsen.
Baldwin and McCourty's Madden matchup was streamed live on twitch.com, as the two players engaged in friendly banter while representing their respective teams and playing for separate charitable foundations. The champion of the Xbox Player Charity Challenge will receive a $51,000 donation from Microsoft, along with Surface Pro 4 and Xbox One S devices, to the winner's charity of choice. McCourty's championship run expired on Tuesday night, but he was playing for Tackle Sickle Cell. Baldwin, a Florida native playing for Southern Youth Sports Association, keeps his title hopes alive.
"They do a lot of things for the inner-city youth back home in Pensacola in terms of getting kids off the streets, helping them further their education, and giving them opportunities to better themselves," Baldwin said of SYSA's community work.
Highlights from the pair's Madden matchup, which gets going around the 10-minute mark of this video, include Baldwin tossing two touchdowns from Wilson to receiver Tyler Lockett, as well as an impressive stand in the final minute from Seattle's defense to hold off a late push from McCourty's Patriots.
"We had a good run, nice stretch in there," McCourty said. "Played tough today, just fell a little bit short. It always comes down to one play against these guys and we didn't get it done."
Baldwin, who topped Arizona Cardinals cornerback Patrick Peterson in the opening round of the Xbox Player Charity Challenge, had a side-wager with McCourty that called for the loser of this week's Madden game to read a poem about the winner. Here's a look at what McCourty came up with:
