NFL Offenses Return to Under Center Play at Record Levels in Week 1

NFL teams took 42.5% of snaps from under center in Week 1, the highest rate since 2012, contributing to a scoring average of 24.7 points per game.

NFL offenses operated from under center 42.5% of the time during Week 1 of the 2026 season, marking the highest under-center rate since 2012. According to Bill Barnwell of ESPN, this shift coincided with teams averaging 24.7 points per game, tying for the highest-scoring opening week since the 1970 merger. The league-wide under-center frequency has risen steadily from a low of 29% in 2023 to 35% in 2025.

Several organizations implemented new offensive coordinators to facilitate this transition, including David Blough for the Commanders, Sean Mannion for the Eagles, and Declan Doyle for the Ravens. The Commanders increased their usage of zone run concepts from 37% in 2024 to 59% in Week 1. Similarly, the Eagles' zone run rate rose to 56% under Mannion and new run game coordinator Ryan Mahaffey. The Vikings also integrated the trend by signing Kyler Murray, who spent training camp practicing drops from under center before suffering a first-quarter concussion in the season opener.

Strategic shifts are driving the change as offenses attempt to counter zone coverage, which defenses utilized on over 60% of dropbacks in Week 1. While play-action was used on only 9.5% of shotgun or pistol dropbacks, teams employed play-action on more than 75% of passes from under center. Data since 2021 shows under-center pass dropbacks generated 0.11 EPA per play, compared to 0.04 EPA for shotgun or pistol snaps.

The move away from the shotgun has significantly reduced the designed quarterback run game. Week 1 saw only 11 total designed QB runs across the league, a sharp decline from the 2022 peak of 31 per week. Deshaun Watson of the Cleveland Browns led all signal-callers with three designed runs during the opening week, as teams increasingly prioritize protecting expensive quarterbacks from interior hits.