You have several different options when you’re the quarterback in Madden NFL 26. You can choose to pass the ball, run with it yourself, throw the ball away, or even take a sack to possibly avoid a turnover. Most of the time, though, you’ll be passing the ball to one of your receivers. While you can simply press a receiver’s button to throw them the ball, there can be a little more strategy to it than that.
Madden 26 allows you to throw a few different kinds of passes whenever you decide to run a passing play on offense. These passes can be utilized in various situations so you can give your receiver a better chance at catching the ball, securing a first down, or scoring a touchdown. There isn’t a ton of explanation around the different passes in Madden 26, so allow us to explain what they are, how to throw them, and the best situations for each one.
All pass types in Madden 26
There are three main passes you can throw as a quarterback: standard, lob, and bullet. However, there are some other, more specific passes that are also available to throw: high pass, low pass, and throwing the ball away. Each of these passes requires you to press/hold a different button to throw it, and all of them alter your base pass in some way.
The standard pass is called a “touch pass” in-game, and it’s the most generic pass you can throw. Alternatively, a lob pass puts more air under the ball, making it slower but also letting it travel farther, and the bullet pass adds extra speed on your pass, which gets the ball to its destination quicker but can lead to some inaccuracy.
The other kinds of passes are the high pass and the low pass. These are fairly self-explanatory, and if you choose to throw either one, your pass will reach its target at a higher or lower point than normal. There’s also the “throw away” pass, but this just launches the ball to either sideline, avoiding an errant throw to the defense.
How to throw each pass in Madden 26
Now that you know a little more about the different passes in Madden 26, you can look below to see how to throw each pass:
- Touch Pass: Tap and release the button of the receiver you want to throw to
- Bullet Pass: Tap and hold the button of the receiver you want to throw to
- Lob Pass: Quickly tap the button of the receiver you want to throw to
- High Pass: Hold L1/LB when throwing a pass
- Low Pass: Hold L2/LT when throwing a pass
- Throw the ball away: Press down on the right joystick (R3)
Understanding the difference between tapping and holding a button is key to figuring out how to throw each kind of pass. For example, if you tap a receiver button for too long, you’ll throw a touch pass instead of a lob pass. However, if you hold that button for a little longer, it’ll result in a bullet pass.
If this is your first time dealing with these passes, you can hop into a training session in Madden 26 and practice offense using passing plays. From here, continue to try out each kind of pass until you get the hang of the timings.
Best situations for each pass in Madden 26
Finally, once you understand how to throw the different passes, you’ll need to know when to use them. For the most part, each pass has a specific situation it’s intended for, which you can see below:
- Touch Pass: The touch pass is the pass you’ll probably use the most in Madden 26. It’s used whenever you need a standard pass that doesn’t require any extra strategy. Crossing routes, screens, and basic timing patterns will make the most out of the touch pass.
- Bullet Pass: As we mentioned earlier, a bullet pass can lead to inaccurate throws because you’re going to lose the arc of the ball’s trajectory. As such, you want to use a bullet pass on short passes, or in tight-window throws.
- Lob Pass: A lob pass is perfect for long balls where you need some extra air to put the pass over a defender’s head and right into your receiver’s arms. You can also use a lob pass for a crossing route in the middle of the field if there are some defenders in the way.
- High Pass: High passes are best for taller receivers who can exploit a smaller defender who’s near them. Give him a jump ball and let him Moss the other guy.
- Low Pass: A low pass is mostly used when you need to fit a ball into a tight window when you’re throwing to a smaller receiver, like hitting a guy coming across the field low and away from the defender. Put it where only your target can come down with the ball.
- Throw the ball away: The throw-away ball should only be used when you see no open defenders and no scrambling lanes for your quarterback. Make sure to start the throw-away pass before a defender reaches you, though. Also, get out of the pocket before you do it, or else you’ll be hit with an intentional grounding penalty.
Figuring out when to throw each kind of pass in Madden 26 mostly comes with practice. Get into games, see when and where a certain pass will work out best, and then remember how the play unfolded so you can try it again in the future.
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