This offense has explosive one play touchdowns, an elite running game, and domination all over the field. So, we will be using the playbook called Spread, running the formation Tight Slot Open. 

This formation is unique and hard to defend because it has one receiver and a tight end lined up tight to the line, and two receivers on the opposite side lined up near the slot. Which means defenses will need to guard a tight offensive look, and a spread offensive look, which can be very difficult for your opponent. 

PA Read

The first play we will go over to Tight Slot Open is PA Read. This is one of the most underrated plays in Madden 24, simply because this stock play can destroy man coverage or zone coverage. 

In the stock play, you have this glitch bending, vertical route that absolutely fries man coverage, a zig route that puts man coverage in a blender, the tight end crossing route that creates a ton of separation, and a backside post that takes the lid off the defense. But make sure you are running this play with the zig and the streak to the far side of the field. 

In the play, your reads will be low to high. So, when you snap the ball, your first read will be the zig route. If the zig is open, which it usually is, hit it quickly for an easy gain. 

Your second read will be the vertical route, if you see that there is no help over the top, and he could beat his man of the line, free form pass the ball to lead the receiver by holding the left trigger and the left stick up. This will help to hit the receiver in stride for an explosive play. 

What makes this vertical route so good is the way it bends to the outside. Because of this, if a corner is pressing in man coverage, you will sometimes get this cool press beating animation where the receiver practically runs through the defender and leaves him stranded behind. That’s what makes that route so deadly. 

Your third read is the crosser ran by Tight End. This route takes a little more time to develop, but if you have time in the pocket, he will create a lot of separation by the time he hits the other side of the field. 

Your last read is the backside post. This route works best against a 0 Man Blitz, simply because there will be no help over the top. With enough time in the pocket, you will hit the post for one play touchdowns against all out blitzing players. 

Another way you can set this play up against man coverage is by putting the zig receiver on a slant. This will keep the defense on their toes because there will be two man beating routes crossing the field. 

So, your read in this setup is to wait and see what route gets open first, the slant or the tight end crosser like you see here in this play. 

PA Read against zone coverage is as deadly as it is against man coverage, all because it works as a delayed flood concept. 

And if you don’t know already, flood concepts destroy every zone in Madden. Flood concepts overload a side of the field, so generally, there will be a deep route like a vertical, a medium route like a corner, and a quick route like a flat. 

The reason most zone defenses struggle with this concept is because there are not enough zones on one side of the field to defend these routes. So, the reason PA Read is a flood concept is that there is a deep route, a quick route, and a medium route coming across the field flooding one side. 

But for this play against a zone, you just want to be sure to run it on a Hash Mark. 

Your reads will go from high to low. So, when you snap the ball, you will first look at the crossing route to see to see if you can hit him quick. If not, you will want to take a brief look at the zig. 

If you see that this low zone defender crashes to the zig, you will have the crosser wide open behind him towards the numbers. If the zig is wide open off the bat, though, you can give it to him for some easy yards. 

But a great offense will throw the ball to the sidelines and attack the middle of the field. So we are going to use this post route. 

To get this post route open against any zone defense, all you’re going to do is put the tight end on a streak. This streak will pull any of the deep zone defenders away from the post route.

So when we snap the ball your read will be the deep safety on the post side. If he backs up to defend the vertical, throw a bullet pass to the post, aggressively catch it away from the safety and you’ll be throwing dots all over the field. 

Bench Switch

The next play we are going to go over is Bench Switch. 

The first setup is an ultimate zone beater. But make sure you run this play to the short side of the field. 

What you’ll want to do is put A on a streak, then motion the running back to become a receiver, and put him on a curl route. 

On the backside, leave the receiver on a corner and put the tight end on a drag. Your first read here will be C route by the outside wide receiver. If Streak by A pulls the deep defenders, the drag keeps the short zone low, and the curl route occupies the user, C route will be wide open near the sidelines. 

If for some reason C route is not open because the user guarded it or the short zone backed up to defend it, you will either have the drag or the curl route in the middle of the field for a quick check down. 

Another way to run this is to put A on a streak, the running back on a table route to the right and the tight end on a streak. Your first read in this setup is the same, C route and then, if that is guarded.

The second read will be the flat by the running back. One thing to look out for, though, is the streak by Tight End. Many people will not be ready to defend quick streaks from this position, so you can surprise your opponent with a quick snap and throw the streak quickly in the middle of the field. 

And if the defense is in a man's coverage when you thought they were in a zone, look at the corner route's backside. This corner does a great job of creating separation over the top of the defense. 

Bench

The next play we will go over is called Bench. And We will have 2 setups to beat man coverage for one play touchdowns and short yardage situations. 

For the first setup, what you’ll want to do is put X on a drag and A on a zig, then you can leave everything else. Make sure you run the zig and drag to the far side of the field. Your main read is the zig route. 

This concept is meant to clear out space for the zig and setting up a natural pick by the drag to create even more separation for the zig. This setup is great for the red zone or if you need short first downs. 

For the one play touchdown setup, you will want to be sure to be on a Hash Mark, and then put B on a drag, A on a zig, and the running back on a wheel. 

On the backside, put an X on a streak. Your main read here is the running back, but if that is guarded, shift your focus to the corner route by the tight end. If he has a step on his defender, high ball the throw using L1 or LB to throw over the defender for a deep ball dot. If the deep routes are guarded, though, you can look at your short routes for a check down. 

PRO Zone Weak

The last play we will go over is PRO Zone Weak. This is one of the best RPO’s in the game. What you’ll want to do is read the slot corner.

If the defender crashes towards the run, throw the ball to the flat. This will put you in a position to make moves in the open field for huge gains. If the slot corner stays with the flat, give the ball to the running back for an outside zone run. 

In short, it is important to read how your blocks develop so you can make the right cuts to optimize this run.