Madden 24 playbooks empower you to alter the trajectory of any team's season.

If you're dissatisfied with Detroit, San Fran, Baltimore, and KC making it to this year's final 4, dive into Madden 24 and guide the Eagles or Patriots back to the Super Bowl. Alternatively, implement these strategic adjustments to gain an advantage in Ultimate Team.

Below, we present the top 5 offensive choices along with 2 elite defensive strategies. Prepare enough Madden 24 Coins and elevate your gaming experience now with our Madden 24 playbooks guide.

5 Top Offensive Playbooks

Whether you prefer a power run up the middle or aim for the end zone with every play, there's a playbook to suit your favored strategy here.

1. Cincinnati Bengals

• In-game label: CIN - Z. Taylor
• Most Suitable For: Spontaneous and aggressive passers

If your Madden 24 strategy involves consistently throwing the ball to various corners, and then down the middle just for good measure, the Bengals playbook is essential.

Joe Burrow's frequent passes make this playbook unique, as it exclusively operates from Singleback or Shotgun formations, with Empty Flex Trey being a particularly tempting choice. Featuring 1 tight end and 4 wide receivers, it aligns perfectly with the fourth-placed roster on the Madden 24 best teams list.

2. New York Jets

• In-game label: NYJ - R. Saleh
• Most Suitable For: A well-balanced run-pass option

With Aaron Rodgers donning a Jets uniform after 18 years with the Green Bay Packers, the team's playbook has undergone adjustments.

While still offering a variety of runs with three different I Form sets, it is well-suited to the aerial game in line with Rodgers' reputation.

Notably, it stands as the only Madden 24 playbook featuring the Gun Tight Offset TE setup. If you have Travis Kelce or George Kittle in your Ultimate Team, this playbook is undoubtedly a chaotic catalog worth strong consideration.

3. San Francisco 49ers

• In-game label: SF - K. Shanahan
• Most Suitable For: Fans of a strong running game

The inclusion of Deebo Samuel behind center has added a mysterious yet incredibly effective dimension to the 49ers' strategy over the past couple of seasons.

This strategic twist is mirrored in Madden 24 through 2 formations, namely Shotgun Slot WR Backfield and Shotgun Deebo Package, both of which replace a running back with a wide receiver.

The playbook also offers a variety of solid traditional running plays, solidifying its status as the go-to offense for those prioritizing the run game this year.

4. Philadelphia Eagles

• In-game label: PHI - N. Sirianni
• Most Suitable For: Enthusiasts of agile quarterbacks

Mobile quarterbacks have been a trend in Madden since the Michael Vick era, with players like Patrick Mahomes, Jalen Hurts, and Madden 24 cover vote winner Josh Allen dominating online play.

If you're looking to deploy one of these dynamic quarterbacks, the Philadelphia Eagles' playbook is the optimal choice. Boasting seven Pistol sets to keep defenses off-balance, it's worth noting that the Indianapolis Colts playbook is identical, bringing excitement for Madden 24 rookie ratings addition Anthony Richardson.

Additionally, it's a significant year for the Eagles in Madden 24 X-Factors, with Hurts, AJ Brown, and Darius Slay Jr all elevated to elite status.

5. New England Patriots

• In-game label: NE Coach
• Most Suitable For: Strategic thinkers on defense

Bill Belichick's mastery of advancing upfield through short, precise passes is accurately reflected in the Patriots playbook, even if his real name and likeness are absent.

Packed with runs up the middle, play-action passes, and screens, this selection allows you to swiftly deliver the ball to a receiver and rely on their speed to gain yards.

If you prioritize time of possession or prefer a low-risk approach to advancing downfield, this playbook is an ideal choice.

2 Top Defensive Playbooks

While Madden 24 tends to focus on offense, having the right defensive strategy is equally crucial. Mastering one of these formations can significantly boost your sack and interception numbers, as well as your overall win percentage.

1. 46 Defense

• In-game label: 46
• Most Suitable For: Every Madden player

This playbook is highly praised by Madden veterans. It offers a well-balanced combination of zone and man coverages, making it a favorite among players.

Learning formations like Nickel 3-3, Nickel 3-3 Cub, Big Nickel Over G, and Dollar 3-2 within this playbook can contribute to a successful season in Madden.

The playbook provides various blitz options, and strategic audibles can make a significant difference. For example, switching from Nickel 3-3 to Nickel 3-3 Cub at the line of scrimmage allows you to send speedy safeties directly at the quarterback or ball carrier.

2. Los Angeles Rams

• In-game label: LAR - S. McVay
• Most Suitable For: Versatility and Zone Defense

This year hasn't been the greatest for fans of Sean McVay's 2022 champions.

Despite Aaron Donald leading the Madden 24 ratings, they rank as the second-worst team in this year's game. Matt Stafford takes a hit, starting the season with an OVR of 75.

However, there's a glimmer of hope in the form of this all-encompassing playbook, incorporating the 3 fundamental formations: 4-3, 3-4, and 4-4. This versatility allows you to remain flexible during matches and adjust according to game situations—intensively blitzing from a 4-3 when it's close and dropping men deep from a 3-4 with a substantial lead.

It's essential to note that this playbook leans heavily towards zone coverage, so if you prefer man coverage, stick to the 46 recommendation mentioned earlier.

In this guide, I’m going to show you how you can get more sacks and pressure when sending all out blitzes or just sending three people and dropping everybody else back into coverage. 

Get More Sacks

So, one of the most important things to do when you want to send any type of pressure is hovering. Now what is hovering? Hovering is when the user stands close enough to the line of scrimmage to make it seem like he is blitzing, but at the last second, he drops back into coverage. 

The reason this is so essential is that hovering will make the offensive line think they need to account for you as an extra blitzer, which will open gaps for other unblocked rushers. So you’re faking a blitz to occupy the linemen, which let your actual blitzers run unblocked for easy sacks. 

But this year there are a couple of key simple components that you must know to establish a good hover when blitzing. And if you don’t know these components, hovering actually won’t work at all, so let’s get into it. 

So, I am going to pick a random blitz, doesn’t really matter what the blitz is for this guide. But now in the game, it is very important to use enough MUT 24 coins to boost your linebacker because you will be hovering with him.

Close To Line Of Scrimmage

But the first thing you need when hovering is make sure you are close enough to the line of scrimmage where the green bar will pop up over the head of your user. This bar will tell the offensive line that you are a blitzer. 

Take Part In Blitz

Another thing you will want to do is put your user on a blitz. Even though you are faking the blitz, and will drop back into coverage, this will still help the pass rush immensely. 

But for instance, let’s say the green bar is not over your head even if you put your user on a blitz. The hover will actually not be very effective, and you will not see unblocked rushers or quick block sheds. But you’ll see that when the bar is over my head and I put the user on a blitz, I’m able to occupy the offensive linemen, and you will get an easy sack from unblocked players and block sheds because of it. 

Avoid Holding Correct Trigger When Hovering

The next thing you want to make sure to do when hovering is to refrain from holding the right trigger. In this year’s game, if you hold the right trigger at the snap while you are hovering, linemen will clog everything up, and there won’t be any solid pressure, nor will there be any unblocked players or block sheds. So, you want to be sure to not hold the right trigger at the snap. 

And while you are hovering, then when you back out into coverage, that’s when you can hold the trigger all you want. So here is the difference between when I don’t hold the trigger, you’ll see the pressure comes in pretty effectively. 

And here’s when I hold the trigger. Everything is blocked, and there is no pressure to be found anywhere. So those are the key components you want to make sure you do every time when you’re hovering. 

Note The Meters Below Offensive Linemen

Another thing you could do to take your pass rush to the next level is to pay attention to the meters underneath the offensive linemen. If you see the meter is starting to fill up, that means the line will block better because they are learning the pass rushers moves. 

The way you can reset the meter is by moving your linemen around to different spots in the play calling menu, or just substitute them out for other rushers. Doing this will continue to keep the blocking meter low and give you a better chance to create more pressure on QB. 

3 Man Rush Pressure

But now what if you weren’t sending a blitz and instead wanted 3 to rush 3 and drop everybody else into coverage? It would be a play like Cover 4 Drop. 

Now, in a 3 Man Rush, you aren’t going to get insane pressure. But there is a way you can create better block sheds, so QB doesn’t have a ton of time in the pocket. 

What you will want to do is pinch the D line by pressing left on the pad and down with the left stick, and then slant them down, by pressing left on the pad and down on the right stick. Then the last adjustment you’ll want to do from a pressure stand point is blitz the user, which will be the linebacker. 

The reason you want to do this is that if you only have 3 people set up to blitz snap, they program the game that will make the offensive line dominate these 3 rushers, and QB will have all day in the pocket. So you always want a minimum of 4 people on a blitz, even if that means you are using a blitzer then dropping back into coverage like we are going to do here. 

So when you put your user on a blitz, hover over one lineman, using the steps we just went over, which are to make sure to have the green bar over your head while not holding the right trigger at the snap. 

Then you can drop back into coverage after a brief second of correctly hovering over the linemen. And you’ll have better block sheds for a 3 man rush which can give QB a little less time to find open receivers in a coverage heavy defense. 

Now here is an example of when I do not hover at all, and I do not put my user on a blitz. You will see QB has literally all day to find an open receiver, which isn’t what you want. So, you can see there’s a pretty big difference. 

Stop The Run

Now, even though this guide is about getting more pressure, which leads to more sacks, I want you to know that not holding the right trigger when hovering is also advantageous for you when you want to stop the run. 

Like I said before, when holding the right trigger, you will see none of your players being able to get off blocks and it will be a lot harder to stop the run effectively and just get any type of pressure when there’s a pass. But watch when I do not hold the right trigger against the run. The computer-controlled players do a great job getting off blocks. And then the user, which is you, will still be able to be there to shoot the gaps if needed. 

That is the guide I got for you today. I hope this helps you out. I’ll see you next time.

The title speaks for itself, how do you stop the big, the bad, and the deadly, RPO’s.

But the first thing we are going to do is stop regular stretch run plays that give people a lot of problems.

Run Defense

So, we will be in dollar to start, and we want to make sure we set the alignment to base align. Then, we are going to pick DB Fire 2. And we are going to face HB Stretch out of Pistol.

For the adjustments to stop these types of plays, you are going to pinch the D line, slant them to the inside, and then QB contain the ends. Lastly, you are going to press Y or Triangle and down on the left stick to press the secondary.

Now, obviously, you can change your coverage shell to whatever you want. But for this guide, we are solely talking about how to stop the run and RPO’s. But what is certain is that if you master these tips and also use your Madden 24 Coins to improve your players quickly, you will become even more powerful!

The next thing you want to do is user the linebacker to the side the opponent is running to and put him right behind the defensive tackle. This will put you in a prime spot to shoot the outside run gaps like you see here.

Your goal as the user is to stay as flat as possible near the line of scrimmage, that will put you in the optimal position to shoot the first outside run gap for easy tackles.

Now, there may be times where you need to go around blocks to shoot the first open gap.

The key is to make the turn around the blocks as tight as possible to be able to meet the running back near the line of scrimmage. Because if you take too long to get to the gap, it will be too late to make the tackle.

So, you do not want big turns, or in real life we might call these false steps.

The other great thing about this defensive setup is that the outside corners help contain the run.

So, if the running back tried to get to the sidelines, we have the corners there to counter that. That is also why base alignment is important in this formation.

Madden Tips

One more bonus tip is that when you are about to make a tackle, press X or square to pretty much dive at the runner.

These types of tackles though are way more effective and harder to break. You will see your tackling improve instantly using this mechanic and you will see a lot less broken tackles.

Also Read: How To Master Match Coverage In Madden NFL 24 Cover 4 Quarters? - Tips & Breakdown

Stopping RPO’s

So, now you can shut down the stretches, but what about RPO stretches?

Let’s go to the same. Play DB Fire 2 in dollar and do the same exact adjustments, pinch D line, and slant them inside, QB contain the ends, and then press the secondary.

And it’s important to note that any adjustments I show you to stop the RPO’s will not affect the run defense whatsoever.

Now, the first way to stop the RPO is to simply man the slot defender up with the bubble receiver. But you want to be careful with this. If you keep the manned-up defender pressed on the bubble, there is a risk that he will run into these two players, which will ultimately lead to an easy catch and a lot of yards after that.

So, a way to counter that mishap, is to back off the slot defender, you can do that by pressing Y, then A, and then the receiver icon that the player is lined up over so in this case it would be B, then simply flick the left stick up, and the player will be backed off. This will allow the defender that is manned up to flow to the bubble and make a tackle in open space.

Now, there is a to defend these types of plays with zone drops. So, we are gonna go to coaching adjustments and put the flats on 30 yards and the curl flats at 5 yards. Then put zone coverage on match. And once again, we will be using DB Fire 2.

The primary zone that will be helping us guard the RPO bubble is the 5-yard curl flat. So, something you can do with your coverage is put the slot defender on a 30-yard hard flat, the corner on an outside third, the safety on the bubble side on the 5-yard curl flat, and the other safety on an inside third, and the outside corner on another outside third.

And if you have time, you can bring the two safeties down into the box to help guard the bubble or defend the run. So, when the ball is snapped you are going to see that 5 yard curl flat on the safety pretty much followed the bubble and ran downhill for an easy tackle.

The cool thing about these 5 yard flats is that you can put them on the safety like I just showed you, linebackers, or the slot corner.

It’s also worth mentioning that 5-yard curl flats are great at stopping any type of short routes like flats or any type of short route going to the sidelines.

Personally, I would even argue that 5-yard curl flat zones are better than just the normal light blue flat zones. So, that is the gist on how to defend RPO’s and stretches. But what about RPO’s out of shotgun? We are going to face RPO Alert Bubble.

For this setup, though, we are going to be in Big Nickel in the 46 playbook. For coaching adjustments, we want base alignment, flats on 30 yards, and curl flats at 5 yards with match coverage on.

For this setup, we are going to do the same thing we did in dollar: pinch the D line, slant them inside, QB contain the ends, and press the secondary.

And again, you will want to user the linebacker to the side they will run to and line up over your interior d linemen.

On the back end, we could just man up the slot defender on the bubble like we did at the beginning of the guide, or you can put him on a 5-yard curl flat while the light blue flat will be at 30 yards.

When you snap the ball, you will see that curl flat defender is sort of playing the run and the bubble at the same time, he’s pretty much right down the middle of both, while the 30-yard flat stays in place unblocked, which will just lock down the bubble.

And on the flip side, we the user can shoot the outside gap to prevent any rushing yards.

Here, we’ll discuss how to read and defeat the most popular man-defenses in Madden 24. In this tactic, we will not consider disguises.

Cover 1 Breakdown

Now, when you’re reading the defense before the snap, the first thing you want to do is read the safety. Since we see there is usually one safety, that means the defense is either in Cover 1 or Cover 3.

Then we’ll move onto step two, which is reading the outside corners in Cover 1 and Cover 3. The corner will be 7 to 8 yards away from the ball and there are three Shades: Inside Shade, Outside Shade or Even Shade.

Now that we have an understanding of safeties and corners, we need to move to the next step of deciphering the defense’s coverage and reading the slot defender. If the slot defender has Even Shade, it is a one-man cover. If the slot defender has Outside Shade, it’s Cover 3.

So now you should be able to understand and decipher the differences between Cover 1 and Cover 3 pre-snap.

Now let’s review the goals and see what the cover should do. Cover 1 Robber or Cover 1 Hole has a deep safety and a 3 Rec Hook in the center of the field. These defenders try to lurk any route toward the middle of the field. What this does is open up the edges.

So, what strategies and routes can you use to beat Cover 1? One of the best ways to beat coverage is to put the running back on a wheel route. Whether a linebacker or a defensive back guards the running back, the wheel route is popular this year.

Because there is only one safety in the middle of the field, the wheel route can be open from the top to the sideline. This ensures you have the freedom to pass the ball to the right or left, away from the center's safety.

Now we can take advantage of Breaking Routes on the outside of the field, such as zigs, corners and even flats, which can effectively counter Cover 1. But if you want to hit the middle of the field against Cover 1, you may need to take advantage of Madden NFL 24 Coins to improve your overall player stats and try to pull neutral zone defenders away from your intended pass route.

So what you can do is draw a stripe across the seam. The purpose of this is to pull the safety away from the post, preventing the safety from being able to operate on the ball.

Drags and slants now work against Cover 1 and Cover 2. But you need to hit them on the route after they pass 3 Rec middle area. If you throw the ball too early, it may end up being intercepted.

I also want to talk about another route, Curl Routes. Curl Routes are difficult to defend in man coverage, but you want to make sure you get the ball out as soon as the receiver reaches the top of his route. This will create an excellent opportunity to prevent the defensive back from intercepting the ball or making any type of play.

Cover 2 Breakdown

Next, the playbook we are going to talk about is Cover 2. In Cover 2, there will be two tall safeties, with Inside Shade pressed into their outer corners. Now, Cover 2 has two safeties guarding the back half of the field, while everyone else is one-on-one.

The reason you see Inside Shade in the corners is because they want to focus the receivers on the top for help, which is the safety. But with no help in the midfield, this is a place you can exploit.

You can do this by traversing routes, slants, or even digging. These are just a few examples. But a deadly route against man coverage is the running back’s Texas Route. This route creates a lot of space and can result in big runs after the catch when running this route. You just make sure the running back gets past the linebacker and you can throw the ball easily.

Another way to beat Cover 2 is with Motion Slants. Motion Slants make Breaking Route more difficult for defenders to defend. Because the defender is still moving when we pass the ball, the receiver will cut inside, creating a lot of space for easy throws and catches.

You’ll find great separation with Motion Slants, especially against Blitz or any type of Man Coverage.

Now, in Cover 2, there is one more thing you need to pay attention to. It’s all about competing with the quarterback. If you put everyone on a route, the defenders guarding them will turn their backs on them because their job is just to guard their man.

Cover 0 Breakdown

The next game we will discuss is Cover 0 Blitz. This is one of the easiest covers to read. Because the safety is 9 to 10 yards away from the ball and will typically line up over the slot receiver.

For the blitz feeding route concept, you may need to try a shorter batting route in case you need to catch the ball quickly. And you can also set up a deeper hitting lane in case you’re able to block Blitz and send the ball downfield.

In this game, I’ll block a running back, sliding my protection to the left by pressing Lb on the right stick and left. I will then identify D end to the running back’s side through LB and then A. This is one of the most common ways to block any Blitz, and it works very well.

Also note that if we have to throw the ball away quickly, the slant and the zig will create enough space to throw the ball so we can do it easily.

Bonus Tip

This last tip will help you uncover coverage in man or zone coverage. If you move the receiver from one side to the other and the defenders lined up above him run to either side of the field with him, then this is most likely a man-coverage.

If the defender stays in place when you move the receiver, this is most likely a zone defense. The reason is that the defender is man-to-man. No matter where he goes, he needs to follow his primary mission. In a zone, the defender has a specific position on the field that prevents him from following.

Outro

Anyway, I hope these man defenses strategies make sense to all of you. Hopefully, you can dominate against the defense by using elite Madden strategies.

If you want to score more touchdowns and fewer interceptions, then this guide is a must-have. Here, we will discuss how to complete Free Form Passing in Madden NFL 24 and the tips you need to pay attention to. Let’s start.

Passing Settings

First, I just want to show you my setup. First, you need to enter the passing mechanism in the game. You will look at Placement and Accuracy, make sure we turn it on.

You can turn on Passing Slowdown, which will actually slow down the game. This way you can see Free Form Reticle Max Distance better. You want to make sure you adjust it to Near. If you set it to Far or No Max Distance. This means that accurate placement of the reticle becomes more difficult when you Free Form Passing. And you really can’t make any accurate passes.

For Free Form Reticle Speed, I think for ordinary players, we can adjust it to 8-10. And for talented players, I bet they’ll adjust to somewhere between 8-14. It depends on your play style. Then, for Reticle Visibility, go to Visible. And Meter Visibility goes to User Only.

How To Complete Free Form Passing?

What Free Form Passing does is allow you to throw the ball outside of the shaded circle. Doing so guides the receiver so they can continue to have momentum and speed. This can also be used to get rid of safeties or defenders and also gives you better animation after the catch. Therefore, there are many positive aspects to Free Form Passing.

Now one thing I want to review. When people Free Form Passing, many times they move the left stick all the way to the sides or in a circle. But most of the time, I actually ended up not moving the left stick all the way.

You must have a Soft Thumb. Just like when you’re running the ball, you don’t want your left stick to get stuck when you catch the ball. You want some little movement to find the hole. This is what you do when Free Form Passing.

If you want to activate Free Form Passing, you need to hold LT or L2. This allows you to hold down LT or L2 while pressing the receiver icon you want to pass to. You can then move the left stick in the direction you want to throw the ball.

Free Form Passing Is Important For Deep Balls

Now let’s take a look at how to throw the deep ball in Madden 24. To throw a perfect deep ball, you really need Free Form Passing. If you’re not using Free Form Passing, you’re probably experiencing a lot of interception right now.

To throw a deep ball, all you have to do is really just make a lob pass with LB or L1. An average receiver isn’t going to catch the ball, especially is a good corner. Therefore, you need to improve your receiver’s statistics by utilizing Madden NFL 24 Coins.

Now you’ll see when I start Free Form Passing, it’s going to give the receiver a chance to make a great RAC catch-and-run after the catch, which will continue his momentum.

But this is something you can’t do when you don’t use Free Form Passing. You won’t have enough room to throw the ball, and you won’t be able to get out of that shaded circle. It will end up being intercepted and it will end up like the way it did before with a knockdown pass. Therefore, Free Form Passing is very important when throwing deep balls.

I mean, the receiver hits the corner. You need to throw this type of ball. If you don’t use Free Form Passing, you won’t be able to take advantage of your catcher’s release.

Also Read: How To Customize The Best Offensive Scheme In Madden 24?

How To Beat Defensive Coverage With Free Form Passing?

But now I want to discuss how to beat certain defensive coverages with Free Form Passing. So the first coverage we’re going to talk about is cover two.

Now I either throw the ball to A or I throw the ball to B. If I throw the ball to A, I will pass the ball in free form to the center of the field. If I throw the ball to B, I pass the ball to the sideline in free form.

I chose Free Form Passing to the sideline, and the safety didn’t shoot, that’s how you can beat cover two. There’s a safety here and you have room to pass Free Form Passing to the sideline. 

All I do is hold down LT and move the right or left stick halfway to the right. This is what you can do against certain zone defenses and even man defenses, depending on the type of man defenses.

I’m going to show you this again, but I’m going to hit the ace into the middle of the field. Regardless of whether I complete the pass or not, I just want you to see what this Free Form Passing can do. Like how far you can actually take it to the middle of the court and see how efficient it is.

Now, I didn’t throw the ball down the middle of the court. Because in that area, the center back actually does a good job of defending the center of the pitch. But you’ll see, if I throw it down the middle of the field, the middle linebacker is still going to make a defensive play. 

So I decided to get rid of this middle linebacker by extending my left stick to the right, which moved my tight end to the right. That little movement to the right is small, but it does a lot for you.

But now I’m going to show you how to fight cover three with the flood concept. Therefore, we will continue the follow-up work. We’re going to run a screen because we’re going to have B running continuously and A panning out and blocking the running back. Now I’m going to throw the ball into the corner with the goal of getting a flatter path.

If we throw this downfield where he’s going, this safety or this corner is going to be easy to make a play. So I have Free Form Passing here so that the defender also has enough space to catch the ball. The way I do this is also by holding LT and left stick down and right.

Outro

The above is all the content to complete Free Form Passing. With this guide, you can learn how to Free Form Passing and what to do when throwing. Hope it helps you!

Do you know the feeling of starting a new franchise, only to be bored with it after the first season or winning a Super Bowl? Stick around for challenges that will keep your franchise fresh.

1. One-Year Wonders

Our first challenge is called One-Year Wonders.

The idea behind this challenge is to keep your roster dynamic and flexible. It adds an extra layer of difficulty, as you’ll need to rebuild your team every year. Although this means you will have to spend a lot of Madden 24 Coins, it also keeps things fresh and exciting.

Rules 

1. Only sign free agents to one-year contracts. 
2. No extensions allowed during the season. You must wait for free agency. 
3. You can resign players, but again only to one-year deals.

The New England Patriots have been known for signing players to short-term prove it deals, giving them a chance to earn a bigger contract either with the Patriots or elsewhere. 

Teams Well Suited For This Challenge 

Miami Dolphins. They have a young core and plenty of cap space, making them ideal for short-term contracts.

Indianapolis Colts. Known for their smart cap management, the Colts would be a great fit for this challenge.

2. Draft Day Deal 

Our next challenge is the Draft Day Deal. 

The idea here is to make every Draft Day a blockbuster event. You’ll need to trade up for a top 10 pick every year, adding a layer of excitement and strategy to your draft experience.

Rules

1. Trade up to secure at least one top 10 pick in every draft.
2. You can trade future picks, but you cannot trade future top 10 first round picks. You are allowed to trade top 10 picks in the upcoming draft as long as it’s within the top 10.
3. The player you draft must be a starter in their rookie season.

A real life example: the Atlanta Falcons famously traded up to draft Julio Jones in 2011, giving up five picks to get him. It was a high-risk move that paid off big time.

Teams Well Suited For This Challenge  

Jacksonville Jaguars. With multiple draft picks and a young roster, they’re well suited for aggressive Draft Day moves.

San Francisco 49ers. Known for their Draft Day Trades, the 49ers have the assets to make big moves. 

3. Underdogs Unite 

Our third challenge is called Underdogs Unite.

The idea here is to build a team without any superstars. You’ll have to rely on teamwork and strategy rather than individual talent, making everyone that much more satisfying.

Rules 

1. No players rated above 90 are allowed on your team.
2. If a player’s rating goes above 90, you must trade or release them. You can’t sign free agents rated above 90.

A real life example: the 2001 New England Patriots were not filled with superstars but relied on teamwork to win the Super Bowl.

Teams Well Suited For This Challenge  

Detroit Lions. A team in rebuild mode with few high rated players making them a perfect fit.

Carolina Panthers. Another team with a young core and no superstars ideal for this challenge.

4. No Kicking Challenge 

Our fourth challenge is the No Kicking Challenge.

The idea here is to add some high stakes excitement to your games. Forget about field goals, extra points, or punts, you’re going all in on every drive.

Rules 

1. You cannot kick any field goals, extra points, or punts. 
2. You must go for a two-point conversion after every touchdown. 
3. On every fourth down, you must go for it regardless of field position.

A real life example: the 2018 Philadelphia Eagles, dubbed the ‘Phillies Special’, famously went for it on fourth down during the Super Bowl, leading to a crucial touchdown.

Teams Well Suited For This Challenge  

Kansas City Chiefs. With a high-powered offense, they’re built for aggressive play calling.

Baltimore Ravens. Known for their strong running game, they’re well suited for fourth down conversions.

5. Franchise Savior 

Our final challenge is the Franchise Savior.

The idea here is to turn a losing team into a winner in just one season. It’s the ultimate test of your managerial skills and game strategy.

Rules 

1. Start with a team that had a losing record in the previous 2022 season.
2. Achieve a winning record in the current 2023 season. 
3. You cannot simulate games. You must play them.

A real life example: the 1999 St Louis Rams went from a 4 and 12 season to winning the Super Bowl the following year thanks to the emergence of Kurt Warner.

Teams Well Suited For This Challenge 

New York Jets. A team with a lot of young talent but a losing record making them ripe for a turnaround. If up for the challenge, follow real-life events with Rogers being out for what most likely is the rest of the season. Turn the ship around with Zach Wilson or make tough decisions. 

Arizona Cardinals. Another team with potential but a disappointing previous season ideal for this challenge. The Cardinals showed through the first three weeks of the NFL season that there is more to them than everybody thought. An interesting story to play out with Kyler Murray may be coming back later.

This offensive play is glitched and leaves your Tight End wide open every single time.

About The Glitch

The offensive playbook we’re in is the Chicago Bears Offense. Now, this works for Regs but not Madden Ultimate Team. The play call we’re going to use is PA End Around. 

Now, this play is in the Singleback Wing formation in the Chicago Bears Playbook. I believe it’s only in this playbook inside of Regs Head to Head and the play call will be PA End Around.

The reason why this works is if you hold your right trigger, you see that there is no passing icon over Conklin (a player you can get by using your Madden 24 Coins). He’s thrown into a block. 

But if I go ahead and I go on defense and I try to man up Conklin again, no icon shows up, meaning that nobody is able to man assign themselves to this player.

So, if I audible out of PA End Around, I can throw him now onto a Streak Route. The defense, as I said, cannot man themselves up to Conklin. Despite switching on to different players and trying the man coverage Conklin or manually man coverage Conklin, you can not assign a man coverage player to this Tight End.

With that being said, if your opponent snaps his football, nobody goes ahead and tries to cover this Tight End. And he’s going to be off to the races for an extremely easy one to play touchdown.

How To Stop The Glitch?

Now, there are three ways to stop this glitch:

The first way is to run Zone Coverage. If you just go into a Zone Coverage on your defense, which could be a Cover 2, a Cover 3 or even in this case a Cover 4 Show 2, you’re able to get your safeties to acknowledge this Tight End. This is solely a man-to-man glitch. This will not work against a Zone Coverage defense. Because despite running this man up glitch, when we run the zone, both safeties follow the Tight End on the play.

The second way to stop it is by zoning the Tight End’s Man Assignment. What I mean by this is if you’re still wanting to run man-to-man coverage or you still want to Blitz while being able to stop this, what you want to do is take the player that should be manned up on this Tight End and throw him into a zone.

What this is going to do is prevent your opponent from throwing that one play touchdown. You could still get some pressure, but you still have some really solid coverage on your opponent.

The third step is the User Coverage the Tight End. If you still want to run man-to-man coverage, grab the linebacker or the deep safety that should be covering the Tight End and just run some User Coverage on them.

Now that we know how to stop it, we can break down some ways to really abuse this while on offense. If you want, you can now switch formations while running this glitch. You don’t have to be in the same formation that you came out in to be able to run this. 

As long as you came out in PA End Around and switched into another play that has a Tight End on the route, you are never going to have him manned up on the play. So, what that means is you can come out in more popular formations, like Deuce Close, or come off in a slight place like Wing Slot Offset and still be able to run this exact play or this exact glitch.

And I promise, the more you run this on offense, the more frustrating it’s going to be for your opponent’s defense trying to get a stop on this glitch.

Today, I’ll be diving into the minds of NFL legends to uncover three game changing philosophies that can apply to your Madden 24 strategy to take your game to the next level. 

Tip 1 

The first tip will be from Bill Belichick.

Although he is most known for his versatile defense and efficient offense, one of his philosophies really stuck out to me. In this article, Belichick talks about finding your strengths and utilizing them to attack the weaknesses of your opponents. 

But how will you incorporate this in the Madden? 

Let’s say, for instance, that your best strength is passing the ball. Your goal should be to utilize and find passing plays that can attack defenses in multiple amount of ways through passing. 

Using plays like RPOs to make the defense have to respect the run while also being able to give the ball out to your playmakers in the perimeter, by passing. Then going to play action to lure defenders in, then hitting shots downfield and you may have to set certain plays up to be able to use your strengths. 

Let me show you what I mean. Most of the time, you may not want to just immediately run your best plays. If you are great at passing, try running the ball at the beginning of the game. If you do this efficiently, you’ll be able to call play action passes to lure the defense towards the line because they will think that you are running the ball and then you can hit huge plays down the field because you lured the defense in, which opens up more windows in the passing game. 

So real football and Madden is a chess game between your strengths and your opponent’s strengths. If you arrange good players, even better! If you have extra Madden NFL 24 Coins, hurry up and buy or improve your top players!

Tip 2 

Tip number two is from Joe Montana, talking about pocket presence. 

You’d be surprised how important pocket presence is in Madden. But what is pocket presence? 

Pocket presence is not only the ability to stay calm and collected while getting blitzed, but it is also being able to step up in the pocket, which in Madden will help O-line stay engaged with blocks and give you more time to throw the ball. 

But in football and in Madden, stepping up in the pocket can feel unnatural. Joe Montana has talked about this too. He states that there are other things you need to do, despite what the logical side of your brain is telling you to do. Step up. Remain calm. Don’t give up on the play. In the face of outside pressure, you need to move forward. Stepping up in the pocket. It’s an unnatural reaction. But you have to do it.

Now, many people, when playing Madden, have a habit of moving back as the QB, right when the ball is snapped. But what this actually does is give the D-ends an easier route to the QB and will prevent the offensive tackles from being able to block for a longer period of time and will disengage with the rusher. 

So, you want to start practicing is staying in the pocket for as long as possible. When you feel that the rush is coming from the ends, step up in the pocket and you’ll get better blocking animations from your O-line for more time in the pocket to find open receivers and throw lasers. 

Tip 3 

The third tip is a page taken out of Tom Brady’s philosophy on how to read coverages. 

An old backup QB for Tom Brady explained that using motions gave Tom Brady a tell on whether the defense was in a man defense or a zone defense. This would dictate what Tom Brady would audible to every snap and use it to exploit the defense. 

This tactic works extremely well in Madden too. All you want to do is motion a receiver to the opposite side. And if the defender that is over him follows, then it is most likely a man defense. If the defender stays where he is, when you motion, it is most likely a zone defense. Then, based off what the defense is in, you can call your plays accordingly.

Here's an example. When I motion this player, you see that the defender follows, which is a tell that it is a man defense. So now that you know that it is man to man, you can set up man beaters and isolate favorable matchups.

Since I motion the outside wide receiver, the slot receiver is isolated in a 1v1 situation with no defensive help. So, what I may do here is put him on a zig route. This type of route creates a lot of separation against man. So, when you snap the ball, you will see he is able to create separation and with no defensive help around. All he has to do is catch the ball and get up field for a huge play. 

This is a prime example of how motioning players can give you tells on what the defense is in and adjusting to exploit the defense. And you can use these tactics in every game that you play. 

Imagine one of the most dangerous players on the field is the user Defender because of how good or bad, you can make them, going beyond what the computer can realistically do for you. And it’s a spot where every moment of indecisiveness or aggressiveness is rewarded accordingly. 

So, with this guide, I’m going to go over a few things you need to start doing to become a menace to your opponent in the passing game and maybe get up off of that defensive line to start causing more turnovers and take your game to the next level in Madden 24. Of course, if you have enough Madden 24 Coins, you’d better pick some good players to join your team. This way, you can win the game more easily.

Peripheral Vision

One of the first things you need to do after the snap is you want to use your peripheral vision to take as much information as possible about the play and who’s coming into your area that you may not see it.

Now, for those unaware your peripherals, your vision outside of what you’re directly looking at. So, if I’m looking at the middle of the field, I also want to be able to see things outside of the middle of the screen without moving my eyes. This is important.

Basically, you want to extend your field of vision so you can see more things. And by looking at the middle of the field instead of at a specific receiver, it’s easier to do.

The purpose of this is to spot things developing faster than again, just focusing on the tight end or wide receiver. So, using your peripheral vision, you start to see how routes are being distributed and who’s coming into your area wide open as an immediate threat that you might want to engage with.

You can bait people doing this, leaving the middle of the field wide open so they think they can attack it. And you’re able to jump on whoever wants to uncover themselves into that area. Although I didn’t get it, you see the thought process behind it.

Take Good Angles 

Now, imagine you can see the guy coming open, but if you take a terrible angle, it was all for nothing. So, taking proper angles covering receivers is the second most important thing you can do as a user.

It’s so important because it delays the receiver using their speed advantage against you and blowing right by. And to do this, you simply want to run to where the receiver is going and not where they currently are. You’re looking to cut them off because running directly at them, you’re hoping the quarterback throws it immediately.

If he doesn’t, you’ll burn instantly and all the quarterback had to do is wait a second or so for him to come open again. If you take a proper angle, you delay the possibility of them burning you, which less be real they will if you’re chasing them for long enough.

But the goal is to delay this as long as possible by keeping yourself in the best possible position as long as you can. And you’re also able to still defend the Quick Pass if they throw it now.

Don’t Take The Ball

Sometimes, you’re not going to be playing. The angles in the routes are simply designed to test your patience.

Quick underneath the routes are usually bait unless it’s third or fourth and short or you’re blitzing or if you notice every single route is going short. So, you might as well attack it.

Because otherwise its purpose is to get you to bite up, so they can hit something behind you. And this is where using your peripherals while semi-committing short can help you get back in time to create turnover opportunities.

A simple rule to follow is anytime your instinct is telling you to start chasing something, ask yourself is this a trap.

How To Bait Your Opponent?

Another skill you must develop is if they somehow have two guys open against your style defense is baiting. Basically, this means you cover one guy to load it into their mind that he’s covered and peel off to the next read and get yourself a pick. 

The better the player, the less likely this is to work. But you can get a good amount of people with a basic covering peel, depending on the route combo.

You don’t even have to be covering anybody initially just coming into the picture laid from a Fake Blitz or you wait until the last possible second to react to the receiver and the quarterback not seeing you can create big plays as well.

Usering Paired With The Blitz

And lastly, I briefly mentioned, but Blitz is where the flats are open can lend you plenty of interceptions or near ones if your opponent isn’t careful.

You can undercut a lot of these passes to the flats if you take off from the start by just getting in between the receiver and the ball. It’s all about the angles, y’all.

To be an impactful use, you, as a defender, have to see recognize what’s happening, and an attack taking the proper angle to make the most impactful play on the ball.

Here, I’ll break down the offensive scheme that dominates the passing game with unique route concepts and a run game that’s fun and hard to stop. Let’s start.

Audibles And Formations

First, we need to set up audibles. Because we’re going to be audibling down between two different formations in Chiefs Playbook, Tight Open and Trio HB Weak.

Audibling down means you are changing the pre-captured formation by pressing X or Square. Then pressing right or left on the d-pad to change the formation. This will constantly force the defense to adjust to your offense.

Now, here are the audibles for each formation we’re going to discuss. In Trio HB Weak formation, all you need to do is make sure you have RPO Alert Bubble among the audibles. Then, for Tight Open, you need Slot Post, Bench Z Spot, Read Option, and Speed Option.

1st Play

So, to start the offense, you need to appear in RPO Alert Bubble in Trio HB Weak formation. This play is tough to stop because you can throw the ball to the bubble or give it to the perimeter.

Now, the readings in this tactic are very simple. You need to understand numerical advantage by calculating the ratio between the number of players on the tripping side and the number of defensive players lined up on the receiver side. 

In this play, you will see only 2 defensive players lined up over the 2 wide receivers. The only defensive player with the ball was the safety, who was 12 yards out. The linebacker is too slow to defend the bubble from his inside position.

Now, once you throw the ball, all you have to do is beat your 1v1 duel, and then you can easily catch the ball to move the chains. But if your 3 receivers have a defensive player surrounding them, you may want to look at the backfield.

If you find that most defenders are shifting to the tripping side, give it to the running back. You’ll have enough time to complete the mission to earn a huge Madden 24 Coins payout.

The reason we started using RPO Alert Bubble was so that we could hear Tight Open formation audibles. You just need to press X and then press the D right until you reach Tight Open.

Then, once you’re in formation, you’ll be able to choose from any of our selection of audible plays: Slot Post, Bench Z Spot, Read Option, and Speed Option.

2nd Play

Now, if you see the defense in blitz mode, you can hear the audibles of Slot Post in Tight Open formation. The way to tell if a blitz is coming is to look at the safety. If they’re within 10 yards of the line of scrimmage, usually you’ll see a blitz unless it’s fake.

But to beat the blitz, we will place 2 shorter routes on the right that beat the opponent. But on the left side, we’re going to keep the same route. You can then block RB to add an extra blocker against the blitz, so we have more time to attack.

Now, when we spike the ball, you’ll see that the blitz is blocked. This gives us time to get the laser out of the pocket and throw touchdown passes to elite players.

But one thing I want to make you wary of is the original defender covering RB. Because RB didn’t go out and run the route, the defender who was guarding him is now a zone defender.

Therefore, when dealing with a blitz, it’s important to understand route spacing and beat personnel covering routes. If you don’t space your routes well, you’ll have a hard time keeping enough distance from your defender. And you can allow defenders or users to guard both routes at the same time.

3rd Play

Another way you can beat the defense on this play is to create a bunch look by signaling the slot receiver on the post. You can then put B on the zig, A on the slant, and put the running back on the outside table route.

The goal here is to read the corner route. If he creates enough distance to guide him away from the defender, he can score an easy touchdown. If he doesn’t open, you will check via the zig route.

Another thing that makes this game so exciting, though, is route spacing. Because we have too many routes that pose a threat to human defenses. If the user only guards one route, other routes away from the user will inevitably be opened.

4th Play

Outside of Bench Z Spot, we’ll create a flood concept by moving the outside receiver and placing him vertically. Then on the back, we place Y in the tilt position and X in the zig position.

Now, in this flood concept, my interpretation is safety, the corner, and the slot corner. You’ll see the corner stay in his flat to defend the running back. And the corner route, which leaves the vertical route open in the back of the end zone, occupies the deep safety.

Because if the flat defender stays low, the deep half safety won’t be able to guard two routes that are spaced apart from each other. Therefore, route spacing is equally important for zones and players.

5th Play

Another way to execute this play is to move the Y receiver over, put B in the slant position and X in the zig position. If your opponent is in man coverage mode, see which cutting routes will be open.

Here, it’s a slant with yards of open space. If you have to get rid of the ball quickly, you’ll have zig and flat route to watch the check.

6th Play

Now let’s talk about speed options. The speed option forces the defense to cover two players, QBs and running back. If you see the D end rushing QB, press LB to throw it to the running back and try to get to the outside. That’s where you can make big runs and touchdowns.

7th Play

In this play, you can choose to have QB have the ball, or hold A and give the ball to RB. If no anchors are available, look at the backside linebackers furthest away from the outside and slot corners. If they fall toward the outside, get the ball to the running back to improve your running game.

You need to read your blocks correctly by understanding where your blockers are and what influence they have. So, when the running back gets the ball, the left guard blocks the linebacker.

We now have two holes to choose from. But what you want to choose is the hole where the left back pushes the defender away. So, I took the space in the middle and made a cutout on the outside. That’s why I cut to the outside, away from the defender, and get an easy touchdown.

This is the offensive scheme I provide you in Chiefs Playbook today. Let me know what you think of this offensive scheme and how it works for you. See you next time.