Playbooks

Curl Combo

Shotgun·Spread Y-Slot Wk·11

Curl Pass Play Flat Swing

Play diagram for Curl Combo from Shotgun Spread Y-Slot Wk in Madden 27

Quick Reference

FormationShotgun

SetSpread Y-Slot Wk

Personnel

111 RB · 1 TE · 3 WR

In 3 playbooks

Franchise HS Spread OffenseOffense Jaguars OffenseOffense NFL Live Jaguars OffenseOffense

Breakdown

Curl Combo out of Shotgun Spread Y-Slot Wk gives you a curl route stack on the boundary side (the number 1 receiver breaks in on the curl while the outside receiver runs a shorter drag underneath), a corner-to-flat combo on the backside from the two tight splits, and a wide receiver looping across the formation on a shallow drag from the far side. The RB stays in to help protect or check down late. This is a zone beater at its core, designed to sit routes in the soft spots of curl-flat and cover 3 zones while still giving you a shallow crosser as a man beater outlet against man coverage. Primary read progression starts with the number 1 curl at the top of the screen, works to the corner breaking route, then checks down to the underneath drag or RB if the window closes.

Defensive Reads

Read the safety depth before the snap, since two high safeties usually signal cover 4 or cover 2 which opens up the curl and corner combo routes in the intermediate zones. Watch the flat defender and curl to flat linebacker after the snap, because if he sits on the curl route you should immediately go to the corner route breaking behind him. This play struggles against press man with a deep safety over the top (cover 1 or cover 0) since the curl route has less room to sit down and the corner route can get undercut by a robber defender. Look for a user controlled defender flying underneath toward the shallow drag route, which is a common lurk technique in cover 3 that jumps the crossing route, so be ready to reset to the curl or corner instead. Identify blitz packages pre-snap by checking linebacker depth, since if the defense brings extra rushers the RB check down and shallow drag become your fastest answers against a nano blitz look.

Usage Tips

Use pre-snap motion or a hot route check to see if the defense shows cover 3 or cover 4, since this play is built to exploit the soft curl-flat zone that both shells leave open.

Target the number 1 curl route first against zone coverage because it sits down right in the linebacker to safety window and gives you a easy completion on third and short.

Against man coverage, work the shallow drag route across the field since it creates natural separation off the initial break and beats trailing corners or nickel defenders.

Pair this play with Dagger or Four Verticals in the same set to keep defenses honest, since Curl Combo punishes teams that sit back in soft zones while the vertical shots punish aggressive underneath coverage.

Use this on third and medium to third and long situations where the curl route depth matches the sticks, and always check the flat defender before throwing the corner route to avoid a jump ball interception.