Offenses are running fewer plays, using heavier personnel packages with fewer wide receivers on the field and increasing play action, shifts and motion. They are also decreasing run-pass option (RPO) usage, running the ball more often and exploiting increasing blitz rates via quick first-read play designs. The changes reduce the number of flex-viable players, soften offensive touch competition for star players and increase the offense’s per-play efficiency.
Play action offers one of the clearest examples of those efficiency gains. The NFL’s average expected points added (EPA) per play in 2025 jumped from -0.031 without play action to 0.054 with play action, while yards per pass play leaped from 6.72 to 7.76.