How to perform a stiff arm in Madden 21

Performing a stiff arm on your opponent in football can be a great way to prevent a tackle and continue gaining yards. For those who may not know what a stiff arm, it’s simply when a ball carrier, such as a wide receiver or a running back, extends an arm out with the intention of pushing a defender back. Like in real football, you can perform a stiff arm in Madden 21, and it’s actually pretty simple. Here’s how you do it.

To use a stiff arm, press A on an Xbox controller or X on a PlayStation controller when carrying the ball. The key when performing one is that you need to make sure that the defender you want to push back is on the side of your free arm. To illustrate, if a defender is coming up to you from the left side, and your left arm is free, a stiff arm can be successfully performed.

Keep in mind though, that you will want to hit the opposition with a stiff arm at the right time. If you do it when an opposing defender is right next to your carrier, it’s too late. There needs to be a bit of distance between you and the defender, so make sure that you gauge that amount of space before deciding on whether to use or a stiff arm or not.