Madden 21 Best Defensive Playbook

Madden has historically been a very offensive-heavy game where if you are not scoring, then you are losing. However, as famous former Alabama head coach Paul “Bear” Bryant once said, “Defense wins championships”. We feel like this statement especially holds true today due to the emphasis on the offensive game. Know, however, that if you can simply stop the other team or cause a takeaway, then you quickly have a leg up on your opponent!

You will often find that everyone struggles in this game on defense, so do not be discouraged and think you are the only one. This causes people to forget about defense as a whole, but at the same time it destroys someone when they make an offense mistake. Since defense is so difficult to play, people often find themselves throwing long touchdowns rather than interceptions.

If you haven’t realized it, this means an interception or fumble will be a large blow to your opponent! So much so that you will often find opposing players quit whenever they throw more than one interception. This is also out of fear from the earlier paragraph — since it is a heavily offensive game, if you are not scoring then you are losing.

Since the games are shorter than a normal football game, every possession matters given that you may only have four in a game. This also adds to the extra pressure on the offense to perform well and outsmart the defense. We are emphasizing this point in detail not to tell you to spend more time practicing offense, but rather explaining that if you simply get better on defense, your opponents can’t perform on offense. And… when they’re not scoring, they’re losing!

Now that you understand why it is so important to excel on defense, let’s take a look at some of the best defensive playbooks in Madden 21!

We start our list with the best playbook in the game, but it is somehow not well-known amongst players. This is the 46 defense which has some historic basis, and it has always given us trouble personally. We have a friend that picks this playbook no matter what team he is, and somehow it is always still effective. Since it can be used with any team of your choosing, making it a general playbook rather than for one team. This is also another reason why it is the best defensive playbook in the game and great for MUT.

With that in mind, we want to expand on the specifics of this playbook so you can understand our reasoning behind this decision while understanding exactly how it works when you play Madden 21. A 46 defense is similar to the standard 4-3 defense with four lineman and three linebackers, however the roles are a little bit different between these two defenses.

The main role change is centered around the strong safety (SS) and the right end (RE). The strong safety will be playing down towards the center of the field instead of dropping back numerous yards. In doing this, they will be acting more like a linebacker rather than a strong safety. So whether you are playing in MUT or franchise mode, you will want to emphasize the attributes of block shedding and tackling for your safety rather than interception rating.

As for the difference of the right end, they will be a pass rusher only, so you need to ensure that your right end’s pass rushing abilities are above average. The outside linebackers are also slightly different because they need to be able to shed blocks and pass rush as well. This is because the 46 defense includes a lot of blitz packages which use the outside linebackers in addition to the defensive lineman. This is also why your strong safety will be playing up more than usual, to cover the ground for your linebackers.

As mentioned earlier, this playbook has historic roots far beyond Madden 21 or Madden 20 for that matter. The 46 defense was created by the Chicago Bears back in the 1980s. It was designed to put extra pressure on the quarterback at all times, while also throwing off the quarterback with this new formation. Since the strong safety is playing up and the linebackers are blitzing more than usual, it caught off quarterbacks back in the day and will continue to do so in Madden 21 whenever you use the playbook.

The extra pressure on the quarterbacks is why we think this is the best defensive playbook in Madden 21. In the standard team playbooks, it seems like blitz packages are few and far between, and if they have any plays at all, far too many people are rushing the quarterback. Instead of hoping that your opposition runs or that your men make it to the quarterback before he can throw, we suggest this 46 playbook.

Every play makes it seem like a blitz, but they maintain enough defenders back so you cannot be hurt by any quick passes or a long ball. Since every play appears like a blitz to the opposing quarterback, they are also more likely to get rid of the ball quickly or panic and make a bad decision. Whenever they do, your defenders will be ready to intercept the ball quickly and run it back for a touchdown. This will certainly get into your opposition’s head and make them want to quit!

At the end of the day, the 46 defensive playbook is the best defensive playbook in Madden 21 in our opinion. It has some historic roots and really emphasizes the importance of defense. Your players’ roles will be switched slightly so make sure you have guys with the right attributes in those positions. However this defensive playbook will certainly catch your opponents off guard and give you the advantage that you need to win games!

We hope you enjoyed this article and try out the 46 defensive playbook next time you play Madden 21. You will not be disappointed!