10 Madden 21 Glitches That Would Be Funny If They Weren't So Sad (2024)

The Madden franchise from EA is no stranger to glitches. Ever since this game transitioned from 2D sprites to 3D character models the series has been plagued be weird random glitches. Many times these glitches have humorous results, but when one of these glitches causes a turnover – or worse, a loss – they suddenly aren’t so risible.

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With the amount of time and effort EA puts into the Madden games, one would figure these games would be perfect. After all, this is EA’s flagship game series; this is the franchise that has made them one of the largest video game companies in the world.

10 12th Man Award

So you turn the corner with the running back and start heading upfield, or make a circus catch and break away from the coverage. That touchdown is guaranteed at this point, right?The defense is being left behind with nothing but open field in front of the ball carrier. Not so fast. Without warning a member of the other team suddenly decides to run onto the field from the sideline and tackle your player. This causes many players to stare at their screen in disbelief as they eagerly wait for a yellow flag to be tossed by one of the refs. Nope. Hey, no flag, no penalty.

9 The White Screen Glitch

This one has become famous, or perhaps infamous, despite Madden 21 having been released only recently. This glitch usually happens after selecting the play and breaking the huddle. As the game returns to the field-view everything but the crowd in the stands and some of the field markers turn white. The players become wire-frame models that resemble stick figures. If the player is on offense they need to be ready for the broken play that is certainly coming. If on defense, players need to pray that one of the computer controlled teammates stops the play.

8 Long Snapping Problems

This happens in actual football from time to time; so maybe it was an intended feature – but probably not. When in a shotgun formation, where the quarterback is about five yards behind the center, there is a glitch that causes the ball to be hiked way over the head of the quarterback. At best this will result in the loss of at least ten yards and the down; the chance of recovering from this and getting positive yardage is slim to none. At worst this will result in a turnover and a touchdown being scored by the defense.

7 Casper The Friendly Cornerback

This glitch has been a “feature” in the Madden games for a long time now. The pass is in the air. The player moves the cornerback or safety between the ball and the receiver. Then the ball inexplicably passes right through the player covering the receiver and into the waiting hands of the receiver.

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This is funny until the player realizes they just gave up thirty yards to their opponent. This glitch is also one of the leading causes of broken game controllers (not really). What’s frustrating is how often this glitch occurs. Seriously, expect to see this happen a lot – because it will.

6 Guest Appearances

One glitch players have been noticing is the sudden appearance of a random player when inside the coach’s office; most of the time this player is a member of another team. What’s really creepy is how this player will just stand there motionless as the coach paces around the office ignoring the player from another team in full pads silently staring at him. Fortunately for players this glitch doesn’t affect the gameplay or outcome of a game. However, one has to wonder how sloppy the coding in the game is for this to happen.

5 Field Textures

This is another common glitch to encounter in Madden 21. It appearance is similar to the white screen glitch. Players will come out of the huddle, and as the game reverts to the field-view the glitch becomes immediately noticeable. Instead of the crisp field textures, the player is greeted by a field that is a low-res green surface. It almost feels like the game failed to draw-in the field textures. What makes this glitch bad is the fact the yard markers disappear. This leaves the player unable to tell where the out-of-bounds line is on the field – or more importantly, where the end zone begins.

4 Inadvertent Whistle

This is another Madden 21 glitch that many players are beginning to laugh, and complain about. A run play is called. The player hikes the ball and switches to the running back as they are handed the ball. A whole is opened up by the offensive line as the player turns upfield and through the whole.

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Then, as the running back passes through the defensive line and begins to break away from the defenders for a long gain, one of the refs blows their whistle and stops the play. The running back was never tackled and didn’t have his forward progress stopped, but the play is ruled dead anyway.

3 The Phantom Team

This glitch is one that many people wouldn’t believe if hadn’t already been documented with screenshots –and if it wasn’t a Madden game. This rare glitch causes the entire opposing team to disappear from the field. One has to assume this makes it next to impossible to either get positive yardage if on offense, or stop the play if on defense. Fortunately, as stated, this glitch is so-far pretty rare – meaning EA will likely not address it in future updates. Of all the glitches on this list, having the opposing team being rendered invisible is easily one of the most “game-breaking”.

2 Plays That Don’t End

When this glitch occurs the refs fail to whistle the play dead even though the ball carrier was tackled. The play just keeps going. Defensive players continue to pursue the ball s though the play was still going. The funny part is that half the players on the field just stand there watching as the other half keep fighting over the ball. EA must have been aware of this glitch, since the programming forces the game to eventually continue on as normal despite the play never being blown dead by the refs.

1 Bizarre Character Models

This is either a glitch, or just laziness on the part of the development team – with the Madden games it’s generally hard to tell. Some of the character models have some very odd proportions and/or physical characteristics. For the most part this only happens with characters that stay on the sidelines. So, it is much more likely for this glitch to happen to a coach than to one of the players. Some examples what this glitch might do are; altered proportions of a part of the body and body parts simply disappearing. The results of this glitch often walk the line between funny and disturbing.

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