Having a tough time playing defense on the latest Madden game? This Madden 24 Defense Guide will help new players to the series learn a few tips and tricks to improve their performance.
When playing the recently released Madden 24, you might find yourself missing a wide open tackle. Additionally, you also just don't know which kind of plays to call, or what type of defense you should use. This Madden 24 Defense Guide will answer your questions and help you improve your skills.
In this guide, we'll discuss tackling, player positions, pressure, and what types of plays to call.
Tackling
The one tip that's going to help you no matter which position you play, is tackling. Madden 24 contains four different ways to tackle:
| TACKLE TYPE | CONTROL |
| Wrap Tackle | Playstation – Hold X Xbox – Hold A |
| Aggressive | Playstation – Press Square Xbox – Press X |
| Hit Stick | Flick right stick up |
| Cut Stick | Flick Right Stick Down |
It's important to know these to know which tackle you should try and make. If the offensive player is in the open field and you're the last defender, always go for a wrap tackle. This is the safest way to assuring your opponent doesn't break away and score.
Aggressive tackles should not be used much, as the animation required to performing them takes years. Your player dramatically leaps in the air, missing his target most of the time. Neveretheless, use aggressive tackles when desperate or when your teammates are already huddled around the ball-carrier.
Hit Sticks and Cut Sticks should only be used when you know you have teammates behind you ready to clean up your mess, should things go sour. They offer the best chance of forcing a fumble, but missing them could see you give up six points in an instant.
Player Positions
In Madden 24's defense, you can play any position on the field, including DE, DT, LB, CB, Safety, and more. Choosing which one you prefer is entirely subjective, so pick the one that caters to your playstyle.
Personally, we feel DE is the easiest, since your only job is going after the QB. However, you just have to hope your AI teammates know what they're doing. Playing LB is pretty easy, as you just need to cover a certain zone or short route receiver. However, DBs and Safety can be the most difficult. Cornerback especially is tough, considering you constantly need to cover your man. One slip up and they're reaching paydirt.
Pressure
Overall, the biggest thing about Madden 24's Defense is applying pressure to the QB. Generally, Quarterback accuracy reduces when pressured. Therefore, the more you pressure a QB, the more likely he is to make mistakes. Furthermore, this creates more opportunities for interceptions, fumbles, tackles for loss, and sacks.
Additionally, you need to know when to apply pressure and when to relax. Typically, we like applying pressure almost every play, but sometimes you need to consider other things. On some plays like tosses or jet sweeps, a blitz only gives offensive players a chance to break away at the sidelines and destroy you.
So if you want to apply pressure, mix and match where it's coming from. Generally, have a safety on the blitz every now and then to attack from the outside. Additionally, zone blitzes may help cut out those sideline tactics.
Overall, applying pressure should be your #1. The talent of your secondary and LBs won't matter if you're defense forces the QB to make some ugly throws.
What Types of Plays Should I Call?
In Madden (and in the NFL) defensive plays are either man coverage or zone defense. It's up to you to know which one to use and when.
Firstly, you want to see your player's overalls. If you have good cornerbacks, man defense typically works most of the time. In these scenarios, I only recommend zone when playing in the red zone, or when playing against a low OVR QB.
If you're defensive backs aren't that great, you still want to stick with man coverage. However, feel free to switch to more zone defense if you need more help from your safeties. At the end of the day, you're going to get burnt on some plays, while you ball out on others.
Additionally, learn these two defensive back controls to get better acquainted with the feel (PlayStation/Xbox):
- Intercept or Swat – Triangle/Y
- Press/Chuck Receiver – X/A + LS
And that's it for this Madden 24 Defense Guide. We hope it helps you improve your defensive skill, making you a better and well-rounded Madden 24 player.
Madden 24 recently released for PS5, PS4,Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One,and PC viaEA App,Steam, andEpic Games Store. A new NFL+ Edition was recently announced, giving players a three month subscription of NFL+.
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