Madden 24's Improvements Have Accidentally Broken Part of the Game

We're just a week into Madden 24 and already the game is starting to show some cracks. With the MUT team already looking at suspending the 1 million coin Competitive Pass reward problems are creeping into the new game.

But MUT isn't the only place where the balance is off in Madden 24. AI improvements were a big part of the pre-release hype for this year, and in the blocking department it has definitely paid off. The ground game is better than in previous years, but it has had an unintended consequence too...

Broken kick returns

Madden hasn't changed much when it comes to special teams over the years. Some years it might be a little easier to block a field goal than others but it is never super-easy or impossible.

This year though, one part of the game is truly broken, kick returns. Anyone playing H2H in MUT will have noticed that scoring a kick return touchdown is easier than it has been in years. We aren't talking about using the fastest players in the game against a brand-new squad either.

Almost regardless of who players are using as their return man, the rate of touchdowns scored across all modes has been staggering.

Why are kick returns easier?

There's no definitive answer to be had without official word from EA, but right now it looks like a combination of poor AI angles and improved blocking. Those upgrades EA made to offensive line blocks, angles, and responsibilities seem to have translated to blocks in the return game too.

This has led to defenders getting knocked out of lanes and the creation of big holes for players to exploit. Worse still, is that no consistent workaround for H2H games has been found. Some players preach directional kicking, especially going fully right on kick-off, but that's not bulletproof.

The only sure way to avoid this is to kick super short. The squib kick is no longer in Madden, but you can put very little power into a sky kick to ensure your coverage unit is right on the return man when they catch it. Obviously, you are giving up a lot of yards but it miht bethe best way to protect against a TD at the moment.