Baltimore has to expand its play-action footprint

There are many reasons that the Ravens’ passing offense has not repeated on the success it had last year. Some of them are about the running game — while it has been effective, it hasn’t been as otherworldly as it was in 2019, which has led to deeper downs for a pass offense that relies a lot on the threat of a run. 

But the most staggering thing to me about the Ravens right now is that they’re the best run attack in the NFL, one with a single-handedly dynamic quarterback, and they barely run play-action, which is one of the best ways an NFL offense can generate holes in the middle of the field. 

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In 2019, the Ravens ran 169 play-action passes — more than any team but the Rams per SportsRadar’s tracking — and converted them into 934 yards. That was actually a fairly middle of the pack result, but it hides a lot of success because the Ravens were often throwing from XXX-and-short situations. The Ravens still had a DVOA, for instance, of 43.7% with play-action.

I think the Ravens looked at that raw yardage total and decided to reduce their instances of play-action this offseason, intentionally. In 2020, they’ve run just 83 play-action passes. That number is 25th-highest in the NFL. They’ve created 559 yards on those play-action passes. That number is fifth-lowest in the NFL. 

When you watch the Ravens actually run play-action, a lot of it comes off RPOs that I think suffer from a lack of ambition. This still is from a pass in the first quarter against the Browns. The running back has two steps at this point. The linebackers? Fully occupied. Have barely budged from where they were at the line of scrimmage. They know how devastating this run attack is. Does anybody run a route that will exploit that? 

Nope. And there’s pressure to boot. Mark Andrews is running a curl, Willie Snead a quick out. The other two receivers at the top of the screen eventually will send someone to the middle much too late. A Browns lineman has been allowed into the backfield by the design of the play, which is short to Snead. 

I have nothing against Willie Snead. He’s a good NFL receiver, he works hard at his craft, and he’s much more of an athlete than I’ll ever be. But you can’t throw RPO outs to Willie Snead and expect that to do much for your offense even if he catches the ball. NFL athletes are playing corner, and Snead is not a tackle-breaker. This play does not have a high success rate. 

Here’s a still from more of a straight play-action dropback that will become a scramble by Jackson. Notice the big gap in Cover-3 over the middle of the field as the linebackers, initially waiting on the run, are now trying to get back. Jackson’s initial read is to the top of the screen to Miles Boykin. If Boykin runs this as a post, it’s a good NFL-sized throw window. Instead, he runs it as a straight go-route, which leads to two of the over-the-top defenders following. By the time he gets to Hollywood Brown on the curl: 

The linebackers have recovered enough depth to make the throw a dangerous one. 

I’m not saying that Jackson and his receivers, in and of themselves, haven’t had some bad games or dud plays. But I think when you look at what offensive coordinator Greg Roman has done with play-action that it’s been lackluster as far as generating easy throws. When you can’t generate easy throws in this league, it’s like you’re playing an entirely different form of offense. The Browns were able to find plenty of easy play-action throws against the Ravens. While Baltimore held on to win, it was just narrowly so. 

Yet if the Browns offensive coaching staff had taken over the Ravens, I have a lot of doubt that the game would have even been close. 

Jackson’s talent is just too special to have this form of remedial game. Marrying the RPO to a slant is an easy design that several NFL teams have leaned on. Running play-action passes with multiple crossers over the middle has killed for teams like the Titans. If the Ravens are to make something of this season, they need to crush on play-action, not have it be a non-factor as it was against the Browns.