The NFL experienced a dramatic rushing resurgence in 2024, prompting questions about whether the league was beginning to swing back toward a ground-heavy era. That momentum stalled in 2025. After league-wide yards-per-carry-average climbed to a decade-high 4.45 in 2024, rushing efficiency regressed toward historical norms last season as defenses adjusted.
The decline also reignited a broader discussion about offensive innovation. While NFL offenses continue to push passing-game creativity to new extremes, there is a growing argument that innovation in the run game has stagnated.
Granted, the run game is naturally more restrictive than the passing game, where offenses can vary routes, timing and alignments far more extensively. But the issue is no longer just a lack of new concepts. Increasingly, NFL rushing attacks are beginning to look the same, as many offenses now treat the run game primarily as a tool to support their passing attack rather than as an area for meaningful innovation.