Madden NFL 25: Play American Football

Now that you’ve been introduced to the various features and functions available in Madden NFL 25, it time to grab the controller and get into actual gameplay. Madden NFL 25 can played using simple techniques or mastered with complex player actions, but regardless of skill level the alert player will win every time. When I began this project, I didn’t know what a half back was (it’s a running back’s position), but I knew that when the opposing team’s quarterback was flanked by runners, the play probably wasn’t going to end with a pass and so I adjusted my defenders arrangement at the line. The opposite can be done for pass plays, increasing your chance to prepare and catch the interception.

First and foremost, Madden NFL 25’s Precision Modifier system is a prerequisite for winning against skilled opponents. If you plan to play online or against the CPU at Pro level, it’s expected that you’ve memorized and mastered the moves and combos. Even quarterbacks with high accuracy will need to throw ahead, around, or behind their receiver’s mark when traffic is heavy. Likewise, the ball handler can’t expect to simply jog across the goal line without a stiff-arm, spin, hurdle, juke, or dive to shake the tackle. The Run Free techniques are essential to successful up-field movement in Madden 25, so make good use of Skills Trainer Mode.

In Madden NFL 25 the CPU controls and call penalties against offense and defense teams, but beware: the computer cheats. Be prepared to call the referee out on a bad call, which could earn you that first down or prevent the opposing team’s advance. Unfortunately, even when your eyes clearly see the boundaries of a play, there’s the slim chance that Madden’s code could still see it otherwise. In one game I played, the replay showed from every angle (illustrated below) that the runner’s feet were planted well ahead of the marker line before falling out of bounds, but no amount of challenging would change the system’s call.

Of the many aspects that make up a full football game, there are five primary roles in Madden NFL 25: passing plays, running plays, man defense, blitz rushing, and zone coverage. Learn and master a few key plays from each role, and you’ll be a force to reckon with. Madden 25 assigns a dynamic to each team, created by player chemistry and coaching skills, which focus on specific formations and play styles. There is a myriad of different combinations, so it’s realistically impossible to match up against a team with identical traits as your own. Supposing you manage to face a team with a similar dynamic, your play books would still be considerably different.

Unique player attributes doesn’t mean you can’t have what someone else does, thanks to Madden Share’s online community exchange. Madden Ultimate Team (MUT) players can upload and download rosters, play books, sliders, and draft classes using Madden Share.

In my experiences playing Madden NFL 25 in Owner Mode, I’ve found a disconnect between certain key positions and where drafted super-star players are located. For example, you might have a star among your wide receivers, but unless that receiver is posted to the routes you throw most often, that talent goes to waste. Likewise for defensive tackles, where the person making sacks and tackles might be an up and coming star yet to be recognized by name or paid a decent salary. Unlike MUT, Owner Mode doesn’t allow you to arrange how players set on the line. These are important factors in Owner Mode, where contracts and trades are negotiated.

Madden Ultimate Team

Combine trading cards with fantasy football, add in a video game, and you’ve Madden Ultimate Team, or MUT. This game mode is a bit layered, with players collecting cards they earn or purchase in premium packs, draft and trade cards/players, organize their roster and players, then play football against the CPU or online players. Madden Ultimate Team is overwhelming to the uninitiated, and EA Sports doesn’t offer much tutorial on the entire process.

First and foremost, DO NOT create a team in Madden Ultimate Team if you’re new to the series or game mode. If you create a team that doesn’t match your play style, or you’ve made a mistake deciding something about the team, it’s already too late. You cannot delete a Madden Ultimate Team you’ve created, or start over new. You’re stuck with the mistake or bad decision, and EA Sports hopes you’ll play (or more likely, buy) your way towards better players (although you’ll still be stuck with the coach’s play style).

Madden Ultimate Team works on a coin system, which can be purchased or earned and used to obtain players or items for your team. While entirely free to play, it’s extremely difficult to get anywhere with a fresh team because all of the players have low stats. EA Sports offers premium packages for sale within the game, which can be used to purchase coins and use them to improve your team. Coins are awarded at much smaller amounts after victories and as post-season rewards.