Playbooks

Y Curl

Shotgun·Bunch·11

Curl Pass Play

Play diagram for Y Curl from Shotgun Bunch in Madden 27

Quick Reference

FormationShotgun

SetBunch

Personnel

111 RB · 1 TE · 3 WR

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Breakdown

Y Curl out of Shotgun Bunch aligns three receivers tight to one side with the QB in shotgun. Off the snap, the outside bunch receiver breaks vertical then cuts back on a deep out, the middle bunch receiver runs a corner route stacking the outside route, and the point receiver in the bunch pivots outside on a curl route that sits down in the intermediate zone. The backside X runs a deep vertical to hold the single safety while the TE releases into the pattern with a shallow crossing route underneath, giving the QB a curl-flat, corner, and vertical stretch. This is a zone beater built to attack soft spots with the curl as the primary read against off coverage or zone drops, working to the corner route if the underneath defender sits too shallow.

Defensive Reads

Pre-snap, check safety depth and alignment since a two-high shell tips zone coverage underneath, which is exactly what this curl route is designed to exploit. Watch the flat defender post-snap since if he sinks too deep trying to jump the curl, the corner route behind him will be wide open. Man coverage with press corners on the bunch receivers is the biggest threat to this concept since it eliminates the natural rub and separation the bunch alignment creates. Look for a linebacker spying or sitting in the intermediate hook zone since a disciplined defender there can undercut the curl route and jump the throwing lane. Cover 2 shells with hard-flat corners squeeze this concept hard, so identify that shell pre-snap and be ready to check into the corner or vertical route instead of forcing the curl.

Usage Tips

Read the flat defender pre-snap to decide if the curl route will have room to sit down or if you need to progress immediately to the corner route behind it.

Against zone shells like Cover 3 or Cover 4, the curl route settling at the sticks is your first read since it exploits the soft spot between underneath zone defenders and deep defenders.

If the defense shows man coverage with the corner playing tight outside, look immediately to the corner route or the backside vertical since the curl will be smothered.

Use this play on third and medium situations where the curl route depth matches the sticks, giving you a high percentage completion versus zone drops.

Pair this play with Bunch Verts or Bunch Sail in your play-calling sequence to keep defenders guessing between the curl sitting down and receivers pushing vertically, forcing linebackers to hesitate on their drops.