Madden NFL 21 hit Xbox Game Pass Ultimate at the beginning of March thanks to its partnership with EA Play, giving PC and Xbox players access to the title with a subscription. With Madden NFL 21 on Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, it seems more and more players are discovering some amusing situations in the game.
Madden NFL 21's Franchise Mode has been the subject of criticism since the game's release, with many fans calling for EA to fix it. EA responded with numerous updates to Franchise mode, with the most recent update aimed at tweaking trade logic and implementing historical context to leagues. However, it seems players are still finding questionable decisions from the AI in Franchise Mode.
Despite releasing the last Franchise Mode update, Madden 21 may still have some lingering glitches and strange AI logic. Players can give control to the AI for coaching decisions throughout the season including gameplans for upcoming matches. One Madden player shared the gameplan for an important game that includes a very strange offensive focus. Instead of a common offensive focus like running or play action passes, the AI decided the offensive focus would be punting.
I’m playing for the first-round bye week and my coach built his gameplan around the punt :/ from Madden
It seems the AI coach may lack confidence in its players' ability to score, or believes that the punter could use some help. The reason the AI coach decided on that gameplan remains a mystery, but it could be that the player has endured some punting problems in previous games. However, with so many Franchise Mode glitches, it is possible that this coaching decision is another one.
The questionable coaching decision does not seem like it will do much harm for the season, and will only result in a little boost to the player's punting, which may end up being more helpful than expected. Luckily, if the strange gameplan is a bug, it does not break the game like many past bugs in Madden NFL 21. Players may laugh at the coaching decision, especially since many have probably seen the offensive gameplan options and never selected punting.
With EA releasing the last Franchise Mode update for Madden 21, it appears the focus has shifted to the release of Madden NFL 22. Many fans are hoping for new features in Madden 22, and possibly improvements to Face of the Franchise Mode. Although the title has not been officially announced, it is expected to release later this year, given the history of yearly Madden releases. Rumors suggest the next Madden cover star has already been chosen, though EA has not officially revealed this information.
Madden NFL 21 is available now on Mobile, PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.