Madden NFL 21 Controls Guide – What Changed? Offensive and Defensive Controls

By
Jake Bishop
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Madden NFL 21 Controls

Madden NFL 21 players can play this year’s installment on PS4, Xbox One, and PC. The controls of Madden NFL 21 are different for each platform as well as previous installments. In this guide we will take you through offensive and defensive controls for Madden NFL 21. You can of course play the game on PC with a controller but it is definitely not recommended. Depending on what kind of controller you are using on PC, Madden 21 controls buttons will differ. You need to understand the new controls to create the best offensive and defensive playbooks.

All New Madden NFL Controls

Before the release of the game EA confirmed the biggest changes to this year’s Madden NFL game, the controls. Developers are making huge changes  which means even hardcore, long term fans of the series will need rundown of Madden NFL 21 controls.

Mainly the ball-carrier controls are changing. Madden NFL 21 introduces new skill moves which the players can access through the right stick on Xbox One and PS4. Pushing the right stick will now perform a hurdle, in the past it was used to perform a truck move.  Pushing the left stick now creates a dead leg moves. The player will  now use the right stick movement to perform a juke while the spin move in mapped to rotating the right stick.

All three platforms have different controls but they are not hard to understand. But if you need help you can check out the list of controls we have for you below.

Offensive Controls

The following are all offensive controls for Madden NFL 21.

Pre-Play Offense

Controls  PC  Xbox One  PS4 
Player Lock   Z B O 
X-Factor Vision  LSHIFT or RMB  RT  R2 
Snap Ball  Space or LMB  X  X 
Fake Snap  ALT  RB  R1 
Zoom Cam in/out  PGUP/PGDN or Scroll Wheel  D-Pad Up/Down  D-Pad Up/Down 
Motion Player  Left/Right Arrows  LS Left or Right (Hold)  LS Left or Right (Hold) 
Switch Player  F or Middle Mouse Button  B  O 
Pass Protection  P  LB  L1 
Hot Route  H  Y  Triangle 
Audible  A  X  Square 
Call Timeout  T  Menu Button  Touchpad 
Pre-play Timeout  Tab  RS  R3 
Shadow Play Art  LCTRL (Hold) LT   L2

Player Locked Receiver

Controls  PC  Xbox One  PS4 
Cut out of press  A or D  Flick RS  Flick RS 
Conservative Change-up Release  E  A  X 
Individual Play Art  LCTRL (Hold)  LT  L2 
Player Lock  Z  L3 Twice  L3 Twice 
Just-Go Release  LSHIFT or RMB  RT  R2 
Aggressive  Footfire Release  E  A  X 

Passing

Controls  PC  Xbox One  PS4 
Low Pass  LCTRL or LMB  Receiver Icon + Hold LT  Receiver Icon + Hold L2 
High Pass  ALT or MMB (Hold)  Receiver Icon + Hold LB  Receiver Icon + Hold L1 
Touch Pass  Pass Key (Double Tap)  Press Receiver Icon  Press Receiver Icon 
Pass to  Receiver  Q, E, F, R or Spacebar 
  • Throw to Receiver (1) – A 
  •  Throw to Receiver (2) – B  
  •   Throw to Receiver (3) – X  
  •   Throw to Receiver (4) – Y  
  •   Throw to Receiver (5) – RB 
  • Throw to Receiver (1) – X 
  • Throw to Receiver (2) – O 
  • Throw to Receiver (3) – Square 
  • Throw to Receiver (4) – Triangle 
  • Throw to Receiver (5) – R1 
Throw Ball Away  X  R  R3 
Lob Pass  Pass Key (Tap)  Tap Receiver Icon  Tap Receiver Icon 
Bullet Pass  Pass Key (Hold)  Hold Receiver Icon  Hold Receiver Icon 
High throw  ALT or MMB  LB  L1 
Low throw  LCTRL or MMB  LT  L2 

Ball Carrier

Controls  PC  Xbox One  PS4 
Pitch Ball  ALT  LB  L1 
Spin  F  B or RS (rotate)  O or RS (rotate) 
Hurdle  W  Y  Triangle 
Stiff Arm  E  A  X 
Juke Left/Dead Leg/Juke Right  A/S/D  RS  RS 
Protect Ball  Hold Spacebar  RB  R1 
Dive  Q  X  Square 
Truck  R  RS (Up)  RS (Up) 

Blocking

Controls  PC  Xbox One  PS4 
Switch Player  F or RMB  B  O 
Aggressive Cut Block  S  RS (Down)  RS (Down) 
Aggressive Impact Block  W  RS (Up)  RS (Up) 
Player Lock  Z  Double tap L3  Double Tap L3 

Ball in air Offense

Controls  PC  Xbox One  PS4 
Sprint  LSHIFT or RMB  RT  R2 
Aggressive Catch  R  Y  Triangle 
Possession  Catch  E  A  X 
Switch Player  G or RMB  B  O 
Defensive Assist  ALT (Hold)  LB  L1 
Strafe  LCTRL or LMB  LT  L2 
RAC Catch  Q  X  Square 

Defensive Controls

The following are all defensive controls for Madden NFL 21.

Pre-play Defense

Controls  PC  Xbox One  PS4 
Linebacker Audible  END  Right D-pad  Right D-pad 
Pre-play Menu  Tab  R3  R3 
Call Timeout  T  Menu Button  Touchpad 
Show Play Art  LCTRL  LT (Hold)  L2 (Hold) 
Coverage Audibles  C  Y  Triangle 
Defensive Keys  P  LB  L2 
X-Factor Vision  LSHIFT (Hold) or RMB  RT  R2 

Ball in Air Defense

Controls PC  Xbox One  PS4 
Defensive Assist  ALT (Hold)  LB  L1 
Strafe  LCTRL or LMB  LT  L2 
Ball Hawk  R  T  Triangle 
Swat Ball  Q  X  Square 
Play Receiver  E  B  O 

Defensive (Pursuit)

Controls PC  Xbox One  PS4 
Breakdown Tackle  E  A  X 
Switch Player  F or MMB  B  O 
Dive Tackle  Q  X  Square 
Defensive Assist  ALT (Hold)  LB  L1 
Strip Ball  Spacebar  RB  R1 
Strafe  LCTRL or LMB  LT  L2 
Sprint  LSHIFT or RMB  RT  R2 
Hit Stick  W  RS (Flick Up)  RS (Up) 
Cut Stick  S  RS (Flick Down)  RS (Down) 

Defensive (Engaged)

Controls PC  Xbox One  PS4 
Switch Player  F or MMB  B  O 
Swat  R  Y  Triangle 
Contain  LCTRL or LMB  LT  L2 
Speed Rush  LSHIFT (Hold) or RMB  RT  R2 
Rip  W  RS (Up)  RS (Up) 
Ball Rush  S  RS (Down)  RS (Down) 
Club /Swim (Right/ Left)  D/A  RS (Right/Left)  RS (Right/Left) 

If you need more help with Madden NFL 21 check out the Wiki page.

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