Oversikt
Whether you want to emulate your favorite NFL stars or build a competitive online strategy, use this guide to help you choose a playbook that suits your gameplay style in Madden NFL 26.
What’s a playbook?
Think of a playbook as your team’s game plan. It contains all the offensive or defensive plays you can run during a game. Every NFL team in Madden NFL 26 has a unique playbook that reflects its real-life strategies, strengths, and style of play.Playbooks are fully customizable in these game modes.
- Play Now
- Franchise Mode
- Madden Ultimate Team (MUT)
- Practice Mode
- Online H2H
- Superstar mode
How to change playbooks
Want to try something different? You can update your offensive and defensive playbook in most game modes. Here’s how:- 1From the Main Menu, go to Settings > Game Options.
- 2Scroll to Offensive/Defensive Playbook.
- 3Select your preferred team’s playbook or choose from custom options.
- In Ultimate Team, change your playbooks via the Lineup screen.
- In Practice Mode, you can switch playbooks under Coaching Adjustments.
How playbooks affect performance
In Madden NFL 26, playbooks influence more than just which plays you call. They can also directly affect player development, overall team performance, and AI behavior, especially in Franchise and Superstar.In Franchise mode, your playbook choice can affect player morale, development, and weekly game planning. Opposing AI coaches can also recognize repeated play calls and formations. If you overuse certain plays from your playbook, expect the defense to counter with smarter matchups and coverage shifts.Choose a playbook that fits your team’s archetypes and scheme to help your players earn XP faster, activate abilities more reliably, and perform better in-game.Choosing a playbook that fits your player’s archetype can improve performance and accelerate progression in single-player modes.
Recommended playbooks for different playstyles
Want to play like your favorite team? These playbooks reflect real NFL coaching styles. Perfect for fans who want an authentic team feel with accurate formations and play tendencies.
- West Coast/Motion-Heavy playstyle
- Team: San Francisco 49ers
- What to expect: Play-action, stretch runs, and versatile presnap motion. Ideal for hybrid RBs and TEs.
- Option/Power Run playstyle
- Team: Baltimore Ravens
- What to expect: Designed for mobile QBs and downhill runners; strong QB runs, counters, and read options.
- Balanced/Power playstyle
- Team: Pittsburgh Steelers
- What to expect: Methodical mix of run/pass with I-Form and Singleback emphasis. Ideal for clock control.
These playbooks are tailored to maximize specific player archetypes, whether you’re slinging the ball with a gunslinger QB or pounding the rock with a bruising RB.
- Spread/Air Raid playstyle
- Team: Kansas City Chiefs
- What to expect: Quick passes, deep shots, and creative spacing. Ideal for improvisational QB play.
- Dual-threat QB playstyle
- Team: Buffalo Bills
- What to expect: RPOs, QB Power, and deep outs; great for scrambling and precision passing.
- Power Run/Smashmouth
- Team: Tennessee Titans
- What to expect: Designed for workhorse backs: inside zone, power O, and aggressive blocking setups.
If you’re building for MUT, H2H Ranked, or Franchise mode with online play, these playbooks are great for versatility, meta-alignment, or specific exploit advantages.
- Spread/Aggressive Passing playstyle
- Team: Los Angeles Rams
- What to expect: Designed for high-pass volume and YAC; limited run options.
- Short Passing/Flex playstyle
- Team: New England Patriots
- What to expect: Strong tight end packages, bunch sets, and ball-control concepts.
- Motion/Speed-Based spread
- Team: Miami Dolphins
- What to expect: Leverages speed and misdirection: great for mismatches and short-area separation.