Playbooks

Bench

Shotgun·Tight·11

Bench Pass Play Corner Out

Play diagram for Bench from Shotgun Tight in Madden 27

Quick Reference

FormationShotgun

SetTight

Personnel

111 RB · 1 TE · 3 WR

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Breakdown

Bench out of Shotgun Tight is a classic Bench concept pairing two outside receivers who break to the sideline at a shallow depth with a deep corner route from the inside receiver on the left. On the left side the outside WR runs a corner route up top while the inside slot X runs a flat/bench route to the boundary, and on the right side the outside WR mirrors with a bench route to the sideline while another receiver stems vertically up the numbers. The QB has a horizontal stretch read: check the flat/bench routes first against zone, then work back to the corner route if a defender bites on the shallow throws, with the RB releasing as a checkdown outlet underneath.

Defensive Reads

Key the flat defenders and corners pre-snap to see if they are playing off coverage, which opens up the bench routes to the sideline for an easy pitch and catch. Watch for Cover 3 or Cover 4 shells that can bracket the corner route, since a deep half safety rotating over the top will take away that throwing lane. If the defense shows man coverage with a corner pressed on the outside receiver running the corner route, expect a rub or pick opportunity if the underneath bench route runs are timed correctly. Beware of user linebackers dropping into the underneath flat zone or lurking, since they can jump the bench routes if the QB stares them down. Blitz packages that bring extra pressure off the edge can disrupt this play quickly, so use max protect motion or check the RB into a chip block if you see a nano blitz alignment pre-snap.

Usage Tips

Use this on third and short to medium since the bench routes settle at the sideline and give the QB an easy completion for the sticks.

Pre-snap, identify if the corner is playing outside leverage or squatting on the flat, since that tells you whether to prioritize the corner route or the sideline bench route.

Against zone coverage, the outside bench routes act as sideline zone beaters that sit in the soft spot beneath the corner and outside the flat defender.

Against man coverage, look immediately to the deep corner route since it creates natural separation on a defender playing trail technique.

Pair this play with Curl Flat or Y Cross in the same set to keep the defense guessing between horizontal stretch concepts and vertical crossing shots.