Madden 25 Patch Improves Match Coverage Against Certain Bunch Looks, Plenty More Can Still Be Done

With the Madden 25 patch last week, the Saquon Barkley spin hurdle was the highlight, but match coverage was also listed in the patch notes among the gameplay fixes — specifically against certain bunch looks.

You can read the full patch notes, but content creator ZAN put together a really good video on the match coverage update that deals with bunch looks while still mentioning where match coverage doesn’t fare as well. And for those who don’t know, “match” coverage is complicated to explain in a single sentence, but basically it’s zone coverage that converts into man coverage as players enter their “zones” of the field.

The specific patch note that matters for the sake of this article is this one:

This is a big note because if you’ve ever played Madden (or College Football) online, you know some of the most common looks are bunch looks. It’s usually some version of a post/streak, streak/corner, or post/wheel within the bunch look — with a running back coming out of the backfield usually being a big deal in the post/wheel combo. These are very hard looks to defend at times, and Cover 4 Quarters/Palms is one way to at least avoid getting torched on the vertical routes.

However, you then have to deal with one or multiple drag routes underneath — mesh concepts — and in these Cover 4 looks you’re somewhat cooked a lot of the time because the underneath zones don’t always play the routes the proper way when switching to match.

ZAN explains how the latest Match patch did fix what it stated by showing off some of these compressed sets and how they look now against match. The big thing is the way the linebackers are not having to “switch off” to another receiver dragging across the middle of the field when two drags are in play — in the past this would leave one (or even both) receivers open on drags since linebackers can’t change direction quickly enough to follow a full-speed receiver.

The downside comes into play with more standard “spread” looks or ones where the RB lines up on the short side of the field next to the QB before going into the flat. These “match” looks are not ideal. In these cases, the linebackers are not handling the multiple drags as well and so at least one drag is coming open.

This is sort of the endless nature of trying to update defensive coverages to play like real football, and it’s why match coverage will likely never be “perfect” in our games. That said, EA has really tried to continue to update the rules/concepts for things like match coverage, and they do deserve some credit for trying to incorporate more real football into a video game. If anything, understanding where the match coverage is still coming up short should allow you to “user” and fill in the gaps when necessary when the AI comes up short.

If you want to learn more about real football concepts (this is not some sneaky ad or anything), I also highly recommend something like The Pass Coverage Glossary by Cameron Soran. It’s one of the best ways to get more in-depth knowledge about many of the modern coverages we see today in football. It will absolutely make you a better Madden/College Football player as well, even if the rules aren’t 1:1 followed in the video games.