We tend to think of the modern NFL passing game as heavily dependent on multi-receiver sets, spread out to foil opposing defenses. But more and more, modern offensive coordinators are finding ways to use heavier personnel and some old-school ideas to score points.
All four of the remaining teams in the playoff picture — the Baltimore Ravens, Kansas City Chiefs, Detroit Lions, and San Francisco 49ers — have patented ways to break defenses in half with more tight ends, fullbacks, and extra offensive linemen than you might imagine.
You’ll see a lot of these concepts in Sunday’s conference championship games, and here they are. In case you’re not familiar with how numbers and personnel packages, here’s how that works.
- 10 Personnel = 1 RB, 0 TE, 4 WRs
- 11 Personnel = 1 RB, 1 TE, 3 WRs
- 12 Personnel = 1 RB, 2 TEs, 2 WRs
- 13 Personnel = 1 RB, 3 TEs, 1 WR
- 21 Personnel = 2 RBs, 1 TE, 2 WRs
- 22 Personnel = 2 RBs, 2 TEs, 1 WR
In this week’s “Xs and Os with Greg Cosell and Doug Farrar,” the guys talked a lot about how all four teams will use their own ideas to set themselves up for possible Super Bowl berths.
You can watch this week’s “Xs and Os,” previewing both conference championship games in detail, right here:
You can also listen and subscribe to the “Xs and Os” podcast on Spotify…
San Francisco 49ers: Brock Purdy goes to 22
Kyle Shanahan’s 49ers offense is a Valu-Pak of formational and personnel diversity. That’s possible when you have a mad scientist’s playbook, and multiple weapons (Deebo Samuel, Christian McCaffrey, George Kittle, Brandon Aiyuk, and Kyle Juszczyk) who can line up anywhere in the formation and just kick your butt all over the field. |
Shanahan is especially adept at creating big passing plays out of heavy personnel, and that’s carried over to his acolytes, like Miami Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel, and Houston Texans offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik. In the 49ers’ case, they’ve run 21 personnel on 34% of their plays, which ranks second in the league. But it’s their use of 22 personnel that can really get opposing pass defenses in a blur.
This season, quarterback Brock Purdy has completed 23 of 31 passes out of 22 personnel for 436 yards, 245 air yards, six touchdowns, no interceptions, and a passer rating of 155.6, which is about as good as it gets. Consider that the 49ers have run just 92 plays this season out of 22 personnel this season, and you have a pretty good idea just how efficient they are with it.
The 49ers absolutely demolished the Jacksonville Jaguars with 22 personnel in the passing game in Week 10 with several big plays, and three of those six touchdowns. This 66-yard score was a prime example. The 49ers were in a 2×2 alignment with tight end Charlie Woerner and fullback Juszczyk to the left, and Kittle and Aiyuk to the right, with McCaffrey in the backfield. The Jaguars were in Cover-1, and when safety Andre Cisco came down to bracket Aiyuk, Kittle had a one-on-one upfield against linebacker Devin Lloyd.
Lloyd is a good player, but that was a mismatch from the start.
The 49ers will also motion you to death no matter the situation, and that’s how they got this 10-yard Kittle touchdown against the Dallas Cowboys out of 22 in Week 5. Juszczyk’s motion set a three-target grouping to Purdy’s left side, Dallas had disadvantageous one-on-ones to that area, and it was pitch-and-catch to Kittle.
Detroit Lions: New-school out of the old-school
Under head coach Dan Campbell and offensive coordinator Ben Johnson, the Detroit Lions have put together one of the NFL’s most complete and explosive offenses. The wrinkles here are interesting. Quarterback Jared Goff has 25 passing attempts with six offensive linemen on the field with 15 completions for 236 yards, 108 air yards, four touchdowns, no interceptions,and a passer rating of 131.0. Swing tackle Dan Skipper is most frequently the sixth man on the line.
Also, Goff has by far the NFL’s most play-action passes from under center, as opposed to shotgun and pistol attempts that are more common in the league now. Goff has attempted 149 passes with under-center play-action this season; Matthew Stafford of the Los Angeles Rams ranks second with 93. Goff has completed 108 of those 149 attempts for 1,429 yards, 629 air yards, seven touchdowns, one interception, and a passer rating of 115.3.
Against the Minnesota Vikings in Week 18, the Lions burned Brian Flores’ defense for two explosive passing plays with both under-center play-action, and with Skipper as the sixth offensive linemen.
It worked on this 34-yard pass to receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown when the Vikings were blitzing out of Cover-2…
…and on this 70-yard touchdown to St. Brown when the Vikings dropped several defenders in Cover-2. Either way, Goff’s under-center play-action stuff, and the ways in which Johnson manipulates heavy personnel, should keep the San Francisco 49ers on their toes.
Kansas City Chiefs: 13 is the magic number
You may think of the Chiefs as a spread-’em-out team with a ton of 11 personnel in the passing game, but that’s not at all what this offense has been over the last two seasons. In 2022, the Chiefs ran 13 on 10% of their snaps overall, and Patrick Mahomes completed 51 of 67 passes out of 13 for 731 yards, 341 air yards, 11 touchdowns, no interceptions, and a passer rating of 150.6. All of those numbers except for interceptions led the league, which is nice. In 2023, Mahomes also led the NFL in passing attempts out of 13 with 43, completing 28 passes for 380 yards, two touchdowns, two interceptions, and a passer rating of 89.3.
It shouldn’t surprise anyone that Mahomes’ numbers have not have been as good given the ways in which the Chiefs’ passing game has cratered this season, but there are still big plays to be had.
The Chiefs will like to use their three tight ends in stacks and bunches to complicate coverages, and it really worked on this 53-yard pass to Travis Kelce against the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 7. Blake Bell stayed in to block and release to the flat, and Kelce and Noah Gray ran deep crossers against the Chargers’ Cover-1. Cornerback Asante Samuel Jr. tried to follow Kelce across as Kelce cut inside, but it wasn’t exactly a great matchup for the Chargers, especially when Samuel fell down.
Especially into the final parts of the regular season and through the playoffs, the Chiefs have broken big gains in the run game out of 13 personnel. Against the Buffalo Bills in the divisional round, the Chiefs were in 13 personnel on seven of Isiah Pacheco’s 15 runs, and Pacheco gained 60 of his 97 yards out of 13.
His 29-yard run with 12:53 left in the game was a pin/pull concept with tight ends Blake Bell and Noah Gray leaving the formation to block outside, and left tackle Donovan Smith as well. Left guard Nick Allegretti pinned defensive tackle Ed Oliver. Pacheco had a clean gap upfield in outside zone, and Pacheco made safety Micah Hyde miss in space with a nasty outside move. Pacheco leads the NFL with 46 carries out of 13 for 199 yards and a touchdown, so expect to see this against the Baltimore Ravens.
Baltimore Ravens: Making it so with 20/21 personnel and Patrick Ricard
The Ravens are a different beast this season, certainly in their personnel usage. In 2022, they ran 22 personnel 34% of the time, which led the NFL. 21 personnel was their second-favorite, which they ran on 25% of their snaps, third in the league. The 2022 Ravens ranked dead last in use of 11 personnel — just 12% of the time for a personnel group that’s standard for most NFL teams. In 2023, things changed a lot. This season, Baltimore has run 11 personnel 46% of the time (which still ranks 29th), and they’ve eliminated 22 personnel in favor of 20 personnel just about entirely. This allows offensive coordinator Todd Monken to get his backs and receivers on the field at the same time to positive effect. That’s why they’ve run 20 personnel on 10% of their offensive snaps.
This season, Lamar Jackson has completed 22 of 30 passes in 20 personnel for 196 yards, 62 air yards, one touchdown, no interceptions, and a passer rating of 101.5. Jackson’s volume numbers out of lead the league by far — C.J. Stroud of the Houston Texans ranks second in attempts out of 20 with eight.
Two things about Baltimore’s use of 20. First, they were more prone to do it back when they had rookie running back Keaton Mitchell on the field, as Mitchell became an explosive play waiting to happen. But they’re still using it now despite Mitchell’s torn ACL in mid-December.
Second, there’s the issue of Patrick Ricard, the 6-foot-3, 305-pound “fullback” who is generally listed as such, but he reacts more like a tight end on the field. So when we say that the Ravens have eliminated 21 personnel almost entirely, it depends on which stat service you’re using, and what you see on tape.
Without Mitchell, the Ravens are just as prone to beat you out of their hybrid 20 personnel packages with Lamar Jackson runs, and this happened against the Seattle Seahawks in Week 9 with Justice Hill in the backfield, and Ricard coming across to block. It wasn’t Ricard’s best effort, but Jackson spun out for a 12-yard gain, regardless.
The Ravens also have success out of 20 in the red zone, as was evident on this four-yard touchdown pass to Ricard against the Miami Dolphins in Week 17. Whether it’s 21 or 20, it works pretty well for this offense!
