Saquon Barkley’s No-Look Hurdle Has Been Added To Madden NFL 25

In the NFL, when players pull off something special on the field, fans occasionally refer to it as a “video-game move.” But Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley took that to another level earlier this season when he evaded a defender by jumping over him while looking the other way. EA couldn’t resist adding that no-look hurdle to the latest update for Madden NFL 25, but Barkley is the only player who can use it and it’s not easy to pull off.

As part of the notes for the new Madden NFL 25 update, EA explained that the development team immediately decided to put Barkley’s “once-in-a-lifetime move” in the game by combing through hours of motion-capture footage. From there, they determined which animations could be modified to recreate Barkley’s leap, with some additional help from “animator magic” to complete the move.

While that move would be incredibly useful for any player, the developers have put some restrictions on it beyond limiting to Barkley’s in-game avatar. In order to perform a Saquon spin hurdle, the defender has to approach the front of the player at a 45-degree angle. The move also requires very precise timing, as well as close proximity between the player and the defender. So it’s possible, but it may not be the guaranteed outcome of every play under those circumstances.

Later this month, Amazon’s Prime Video will debut It’s in the Game, a four-part documentary series about the history and development of the Madden NFL games. That show will hit Prime Video on November 26. Further into the future, Nicolas Cage will play John Madden in a new biopic from writer and director David O. Russell.

The complete list of changes and notes for Madden NFL 25’s new update is below:

Gameplay

Triggering the Saquon Spin Hurdle – To trigger the spin hurdle the ball-carrier must be Saquon Barkley, the defender must be incoming from a 45 degree angle in front of the ball carrier, the defender must be within a close proximity to the ball carrier, and the user must press the hurdle button with the right timing.Addressed an issue where users were able to create illegal formations by motioning the tight end after an audible DEV NOTE: This tactic was most effective when having the offense audible into formations like Trips TE or Bunch TE. Users could motion the tight end over to the same side as the trips receivers and create offensive overloads. The formations created were not legal formations and this functionality has been removed.Fixed the QB walking through the center on QB Kneel plays. The QB now is in the correct position to start and walks into the correct position behind the centerFixed the defensive end lining up in the same spot as the defensive tackle in the 4-3 Over Solid formationAddressed an issue where no power kicks would land at spots in the front of the landing zone that were difficult for the kicking team to recover DEV NOTE: There has been a change made to kick power and ball placement so no power kicks will now fall short of the landing zone. There will need to be at 25% power for the ball to make it to the landing zoneFixed an issue with outside deep fourth defenders biting down on return routes instead of staying deepFixed an issue where deep zone defenders would not keep depth when they had no receiving threat in their zone and would allow Post Routes from the other side of the formation to get behind themFixed an issue where deep third defenders in Prevent defense were not all staying deeper than the deepest across the fieldFixed an issue where the inside deep fourth safety would leave the slot receiver unguarded, going vertical in the Empty Bunch Verticals playFixed an issue where the inside deep fourth safety allowed the slot receiver in bunch formations on a streak to run past him for a TDFixed an issue where Seam Flat defenders in the Dime 1-4 FS Zone Blitz play were not covering the correct sides of the field against the Gun Bunch Str Nasty: MTN Curls playAlignment improvements in Cover 4 Quarters, Palms, and Cover 6 where the outside Deep Fourth, Quarter Flat, and 3 Rec Hook triangulate their positioning against Bunch Receivers to handle first inside, and first to flat, and deep threatFixed an alignment issue where defenders were lining up in the wrong position on Nickel 3-3 Odd Pinch 0 allowing the middle slot receiver to be left unguarded in Empty setsFixed an issue where outside cornerbacks and inside cornerbacks would align side by side against a nub-set tight end (TE aligned next to the OT with no WRs outside of the TE)Superstar X-Factor Updates: New X-Factor Players C.J. StroudNico CollinsAidan HutchinsonAntoine Winfield Jr.Quinnen WilliamsNew Superstar Players Jayden DanielsBaker MayfieldAlvin KamaraMalik NabersXavier McKinneyChris OlaveNnamdi MaduibikeJaylon JohnsonL’Jarius SneedChristian DarrisawJoe ThuneyAlex HighsmithChavarius WardRashawn SlaterTrey SmithC.J. MosleyJordan MailataTrent McDuffieBrandon AubreyGarrett WilsonTariq WoolenDowngraded Players Tre’Davious WhiteJalen HurtsDarius SlayMark AndrewsKeenan AllenMike WilliamsJordan PoyerTrevor LawrenceZa’Darius SmithD’Andre SwiftKyren WilliamsRaheem MostertAaron RodgersJosh JacobsTyron SmithChase YoungStephon GilmoreAustin EkelerNew Face Scans Charvarius WardRhamondre StevensonJake FergusonTyson CampbellPaulson AdeboMartin Emerson Jr.Nick BelloreJaylen WarrenTee HigginsJoey Porter Sr.Quinnen WilliamsCharles WoodsonRyan Kelly

Playbooks

Added plays to Nickel Over in the following playbooks: 4-3, 46, Cover 2, Multiple D, 49ers, Bears, Bengals, Browns, Chiefs, Colts, Commanders, Jaguars, Jets, Packers, Saints, and Texans Nickel Over – Edge Blitz 0Nickel Over – Edge Blitz 3Nickel Over – FS Will Blitz 0Nickel Over – Cover 3 Buzz MableNickel Over – Sim Pressure 3Added plays to Nickel 2-4 in the following playbooks: 3-4, Broncos, Buccaneers, Cardinals, Chargers, Dolphins, Falcons, Giants, Lions, Patriots, Raiders, Rams, Ravens, Seahawks, Titans, and Vikings Nickel 2-4 – Edge Blitz 0Nickel 2-4 – Edge Blitz 3Nickel 2-4 – FS Will Blitz 0Nickel 2-4 – Cover 3 Buzz MableNickel 2-4 – Sim Pressure 3Nickel 2-4 – Double BracketNickel 2-4 – 1 Double WR1Nickel 2-4 – 1 Double WR2DEV NOTE: We unintentionally omitted some new plays from the previous gridiron notes; these plays were added to Nickel 3-3 Odd in the previous update.Hot Blitz BailDouble BracketCover 6 Willie1 Double WR1Cover 4 Palms1 Double WR2Tampa Sim PressureTampa 2 DropCover 9Added New plays to the Run & Shoot playbook Pistol Spread – Speed Option, Wide Zone, Wide Zone WkPistol Trips Open – Houston, Houston MeshGun Spread – 90 Cube, RPO Alert WR Screens, RPO Alert BubbleGun Trips Slots Close – Blast, Georgia, Georgia Mesh, Speed OptionGun Trips – Blast, Georgia, Georgia Mesh

Franchise Mode

Addressed a crash when users are creating a new offline league using the Active Roster entry pointFixed an issue where the Hub Timeline doesn’t display final scores during the PlayoffsResolved mismatches between Player Traits on the Player Card and Edit Player screenCorrected commentary errors and presentation issues when using a Teambuilder team that referred to an incorrect Bears vs. Bears matchupAddressed Franchise settings issues with the Draft Timer and Adjusting Depth Charts when both settings were set to “OFF”/“Manual.”

Superstar Mode (PS5, Xbox Series X|S & PC only)

Fixed an issue where the CAP would not be present in some plays.Updated default difficulty settingsVanitySnowman Helmets (3)Candy Cane Capsule

NFL Authenticity

GearXenith Orbit Helmet and MasksLight Gladiator Helmet and MasksVapor Edge 360 Untouchable CleatNike Vapor Knit 4 glovesJordan Vapor Knit 4 glovesNike DTack FG glovesC Patch updates for multiple teams