Playbooks

Redzone Scissors

Shotgun·Doubles·11
ScissorsPass PlayCover 2 BeaterCover 4 Beater
Play diagram for Redzone Scissors from Shotgun Doubles in Madden 27

Quick Reference

FormationShotgun

In 5 playbooks

Bengals OffenseOffenseMadden OffenseOffenseShotgun MixShotgun OffenseOffenseNFL Live Bengals OffenseOffense

Breakdown

Redzone Scissors lines up out of Shotgun Doubles with 11 personnel and puts two receivers into a crossing scissors concept on the play side, with the outside receiver running a corner route and the inside slot crossing underneath on a shallow drag toward the flat. Backside, the far outside receiver runs a deep dig that breaks across the middle while the underneath receiver on that side sits on a short out, and the running back checks release into a flat route away from the concept. This is a zone beater built to attack Cover 2 and Cover 4 by stretching the corner and safety vertically while occupying the underneath zone defenders with the crossing traffic, and the primary read progression starts with the scissors corner route against the deep safety before working down to the shallow drag and finally the backside dig.

Defensive Reads

Pre-snap, check both safeties, if they are deep and split evenly this is likely Cover 2 or Cover 4 and the corner route should have a clean throwing window Watch the flat defender and slot corner post snap, if they immediately sink under the shallow drag it confirms zone coverage and opens up the corner route behind them If the defense shows man coverage with the corner locked outside and no safety help over the top, expect the scissors crossing action to create natural rubs that free up the shallow drag or backside dig Key the weak side linebacker or nickel defender on the backside dig route, a blitz package or aggressive underneath drop can jump this route so be ready to move to the checkdown flat route with the running back Look for a user controlled safety sitting on the corner route depth, if a human defender lurks at that landmark, hold the ball and reset to the shallow crossing routes instead of forcing the throw

Usage Tips

Use this in true red zone situations inside the 15 yard line where Cover 2 and Cover 4 shells are common since the corner route in the scissors concept is designed to sit in the window behind the corner and in front of the safety

Read the pre-snap safety alignment first, if both safeties are deep and evenly spaced expect Cover 2 or Cover 4 and trust the corner route to win on the sideline

If you see man coverage with the corner playing tight outside leverage, hot route the shallow drag runner into a quicker option or look immediately to the backside dig since the scissors crossing action can get natural picks against man defenders

Pair this play with Curl Flats or Slants Middle in your play calling sequence to condition the defense into sitting on shorter zone drops, then come back to Redzone Scissors to hit the corner route over the top

On third and short or second and medium near the goal line, use the backside dig as a quick answer against a blitz look since it clears out faster than waiting on the corner route to develop

Other Plays in Doubles