The draft may be over, but Madden 24 playbooks continue to give last year's players a last hurrah. There's still time to jump into Madden 24 and change the path of the previous campaign, or make a fresh surge towards Ultimate Team glory. Your strategic approach provides much of the fun. Below we steer you through the five best offensive options, and present two elite defenses. Keep the offseason alive with GR's Madden 24 playbooks guide.
The best five Madden 24 offensive playbooks
Whether you want to slam the ball up the gut or throw for the end zone on every play, there’s a playbook to cater for your favored approach here.
Cincinnati Bengals
In-game label: CIN - Z. Taylor
Best for: From-the-hip gunslingers
Pass, pass, pass. If your Madden 24 tactic is to throw the ball to all corners – then down the middle, just for good measure – then the book of Bengals is utterly essential. Indeed, Joe Burrow slings the ball so often that it doesn’t bother with a single I-form set. Instead, every single play is run from either Singleback or Shotgun. Empty Flex Trey is especially tempting, with one tight end and four wide receivers at your disposal. It’s a playbook befitting of the fourth-placed roster on the Madden 24 best teams list.
New York Jets
In-game label: NYJ - R. Saleh
Best for: A balanced run-pass option
After 18 years in a Green Bay Packers uniform, Aaron Rodgers is a Jet. The team’s playbook has been adjusted as a result. There’s still a decent array of runs here, with three different I Form sets. But as beholds Rodgers’ reputation, it’s well suited to the arial game too. Notably, it’s the only Madden 24 playbook with the Gun Tight Offset TE set-up, so if you’re blessed with Travis Kelce or George Kittle in Ultimate Team, this is definitely a catalog of chaos to consider strongly.
San Francisco 49ers
In-game label: SF - K. Shanahan
Best for: Ground-and-pounders
Lining Deebo Samuel up behind center has given the 49era a mysterious, and incredibly effective, wrinkle over the last couple of seasons. That sneaky strategy is reflected in Madden 24, with two formations that replace a running back with a wide receiver. They’re called Shotgun Slot WR Backfield and Shotgun Deebo Package. It’s got plenty of traditional solid running plays too, making this the go-to run-first offense this year.
Philadelphia Eagles
In-game label: PHI - N. Sirianni
Best for: Those who love speedy QBs
Mobile quarterbacks have been on-trend in Madden going back to the Michael Vick era, and you can expect to see plenty of Patrick Mahomes, Jalen Hurts and Madden 24 cover vote winner Josh Allen online this year. But what if you want to deploy one of these guys? Then Philly’s playbook is the one to roll with. It features seven Pistol sets to keep defenses on the back foot. Two more things to note: 1. The Indianapolis Colts playbook is identical, meaning exciting things for Madden 24 rookie ratings addition Anthony Richardson. 2. It’s a massive year for the Eagles when it comes to Madden 24 X-Factors, with Hurts, AJ Brown and Darius Slay Jr all upgraded to elite status.
New England Patriots
In-game label: NE Coach
Best for: Making the defense think
Bill Belichick is the master of dinking and dunking your way upfield, and that approach is accurately recreated in the Patriots playbook – even if his real name and likeness remain AWOL. This selection is full of runs up the middle, play-action passes, and screens – enabling you to quickly whizz the ball to a receiver, then rely on his speed to pick up yards. If you’re a time-of-possession freak, or someone who prefers a low-risk approach to driving downfield, then it’s perfect.
The best two Madden 24 defensive playbooks
Madden 24 is an offense-focused game, but getting your D strategy right is critical two. Master one of these formations to increase your sacks, picks and win percentage.
46 Defense
In-game label: 46
Best for: Every Madden player ever
Madden veterans swear by this one. It features a balanced mix of zone and man coverages, and you’ll have a great season in Madden if you spend some time learning its Nickel 3-3, Nickel 3-3 Cub, Big Nickel Over G and Dollar 3-2 sets. Blitz options are plentiful, and audible options can be a difference maker too. For instance, switching from Nickel 3-3 to Nickel 3-3 Cub at the line of scrimmage enables you to launch speedy safeties straight at the quarterback, or ball carrier.
Los Angeles Rams
In-game label: LAR - S. McVay
Best for: Flexibility and zone D
It’s not the best of years for fans of Sean McVay’s 2022 champs. Despite Aaron Donald topping the Madden 24 ratings, they’re the second worst team in this year’s game. Matt Stafford is hit especially hard, with an OVR of 75 to start the season. Thankfully there is a ray of hope in the form of this jack-of-all-trades playbook, which incorporates all three basic formations: 4-3, 3-4, and 4-4. That enables you to stay flexible throughout matches, and adjust due to game situations: blitzing heavily from a 4-3 when it’s close, but dropping men deep from a 3-4 if you have a significant lead. Note that this is the most zone-heavy Madden playbook, so if you like man coverage, stick to the 46 recommendation above.
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Ben Wilson
I'm GamesRadar's sports editor, and obsessed with NFL, WWE, MLB, AEW, and occasionally things that don't have a three-letter acronym – such as Chvrches, Bill Bryson, and Streets Of Rage 4. (All the Streets Of Rage games, actually.) Even after three decades I still have a soft spot for Euro Boss on the Amstrad CPC 464+.
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