How To Lateral - Madden NFL 20 Wiki Guide - IGN

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New ChecklistAll ListsMy ChecklistsAllAll ListsMy ChecklistsHow creative can you get with your first free checklist?Create a free accountHow to LateralBy Jon Michael, Janet Garcia, Wiki_Creation_Bot, +11 moreupdatedAug 17, 2019

Knowing how to lateral (or how to pitch) in Madden NFL 20 can help extend a game in a desperate situation and throw the defense off-balance during a big gain! Pitching the ball is also a great way to turn a fumble recovery into a huge return! Read on for a full breakdown.

How to Lateral

The act of lateralling or pitching the ball is when the ball carrier throws it behind him to a teammate during a run. Unlike forward passes, anyone can “receive” a lateral, including the offensive linemen, and you can theoretically lateral an infinite number of times on the same play.

Note that player-controlled lateralling is different than calling a running play such as Quick Pitch. Lateralling is fully in the hands of the controlling player.

To lateral the ball, press L1/LB while running forward as the ball carrier. You may tilt the left stick in the general direction of the “receiver” of the lateral to aim it. However, unlike passing with the quarterback, the ball carrier will not necessarily lateral the ball immediately.

Aiming your lateral is a little strange. The reason Madden NFL 20 waits for someone to be unengaged is because it doesn't want the ball carrier to simply throw the ball onto the ground. However, laterals are still risky: if the intended “receiver” changes direction or suddenly engages with a block, the ball may hit them or miss them and fall to the ground anyway.

In order to complete a lateral, the following must be true:

• The ball carrier must not be in the act of being tackled.
• The “receiver” of the lateral must not be engaged in a block.
• The “receiver” must be standing or running behind the ball carrier.
• The “receiver” usually must be running in the same direction of the ball carrier.

The ball carrier will prioritize non-linemen first before linemen. That means they'll try their lateral to a wide receiver, runningback, tight end, or even the quarterback. If no one of those positions is unengaged in the direction of the lateral, the ball carrier will then try a lateral to a lineman.

Laterals work on defense too, whether you got the ball from a fumble, interception, or during a punt or kick return. Again, non-linemen are the last priority. Cornerbacks, safeties, and linebackers will be prioritized if possible.

When to Lateral

It's easy to know how to lateral and to execute one. However, they are incredibly risky choices that almost always go wrong unless you know exactly when to use them. For almost every offensive play, the best choice is to simply protect the ball and take the tackle.

There are two major reasons when lateraling makes sense and should be used.

Fumble Recoveries

On defense, fumbles happen more often when linebackers or linemen hit the ball carrier compared to cornerbacks or safeties. This also means it's usally the linemen or linebackers who then recover those fumbles.

The problem is during the run back. If it's a defensive lineman, he's not going to have the speed to get far downfield, especially when the wide receivers or runningbacks start giving chase. If you are controlling a defensive lineman after a fumble recovery, faster defenders will start to run with you to block. It's best to lateral here, as pitching the ball to a faster linebacker or even a cornerback will net much more yardage on the return. Time it right and you may even lateral to a cornerback or safety who can run it all the way back for a touchdown.

Unfortunately you can't practice this scenario in Practice Mode reliably. You can't force the offense to fumble, and even if you can consistently get them to do so, you can't force the defense to be the ones who recover the ball. However, you can do an “Offense Only” practice mode and at least get used to the timing and aiming requirements for lateralling in general, and that can serve you when you try lateralling during a game situation.

Last-Second Kickoffs

If you're in the last few seconds of the game and you're down by less than 7 points, you may want to try constantly pitching the ball as you head upfield during a kick return. This is almost certain to fail. You'll likely be able to avoid a few tackles and maybe get more yardage out of the attempt, but it's very difficult to lateral your way the whole length of the field to get to the end zone.

However, when there's only a few seconds left and you have nothing to lose, you should give it a try. This is when you want to “reverse the field”: run one direction, then lateral and start running the other direction. This can cause the kicking team to over-commit moving in one direction, and if things go right you can run around them the other way. Even better, pitching the ball to someone who has some stamina left may be able to sprint around the mass of the kicking team's coverage if they're getting tired.

Unlike defensive lateral scenarios, this one can easily be setup and practiced in Practice Mode. Simply set up a kickoff situation where you are the receiving team and give it a try. Experiment with different aiming and timing with your button press to figure out the best way to get it to work for you.

Check out other Tips & Tricks for Madden NFL 20 here on IGN, such as other How-To Guides or Fumble Tips: How to Hold the Ball on Offense and Take It on Defense to know how to make the fumbles so defensive pitching becomes possible!

Up Next: How to Do a High Pass

PreviousHow to Stiff ArmNextHow to Do a High Pass

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