Madden NFL Tournament – Turn Over on Downs, Part 2

Part two of our Madden NFL Tournament wrap-up takes us into Zfarls’s mind as he took to the virtual field. If you haven’t read Steve “Sgibs” Gibbons’s account yet, check it out! Both Zfarls, Sgibs and the rest of Prima Games’ MaddenTips.com team gave it everything they had and we couldn’t be more proud of them.

Read on to see what Zfarls had to say.

Zach “Zfarls” Farley

“Walking into the venue, we were greeted by bright lights and loud music. There are always nerves in the first round of a big tournament so I went upstairs to my TV. There, I found a familiar face waiting to play me. We both weren’t excited about playing each other due to familiarity and the fact that we also both used the NY Giants.

During my opening drive, I decided to stay safe and run the ball. I broke my first run for 50 yards and got an instant confidence boost. I was able to score, get a stop, and go up 14-0. My opponent battled back to tie the game though!

I knew the key was to score before the half to go up 21-14 since he got ball after the half. I was able to get a stop, and score twice to go up 35-14.  At this point, I put in the safer running option with Brandon Jacobs and milked the clock. He scored to make it 35-28, but I had been doing calculations and recovered the onside kick for the win. I was happy with my choice to not run up the score, but instead play conservatively and grind out the win.

Game one down. On to the next round.

I almost won my second game by default until my opponent showed up just before DQ! He took the Ravens and started playing some heavy blitzing defense. I was able to break outside and get up 7-0 and finally 10-0. This is where things started to get weird.

I stopped him, but got pinned on my own 1 yard line after a punt. I called the safest play possible and still got a safety. 10-2. He scored but I stopped him on the two so I was up 10-8. I was able to score and get two stops to be up 23-8. After he scored, he asked the ref to onside kick and was able to recover and score. 27-23. The crowd was getting loud and I knew I had to score a TD. I got down to the 13 yard line and was ready to call my ply on 4th and 6. I threw a ball to Cruz on the sideline who tapped his toes but the call was out of bounds.

Game. Over.

However, after a booth review, the play was then overturned upstairs! Unforunately, I never got the ball back. This was the biggest emotion of the day for me, both in excitement and let down. This is what keeps you playing competitive Madden at the highest level. It was a great battle and I had a great time at the VG Tournament!”

Click here to read Sgibs’s account of the tournament.

For tips, tournament-proven strategy, and more Madden NFL insisghts, be sure to follow @MaddenBible, @Sgibs7, and @PrimaGames on Twitter or visit MaddenTips.com!