O’Connell and Phillips have overseen one of the NFL’s most prolific play-action passing attacks since arriving in 2022. Quarterback Kirk Cousins fit the system like a glove, throwing for 1,324 play-action yards (ranking fifth) and 12 touchdowns (tied for third) that year. They squeezed over 1,400 play-action yards from Cousins, Nick Mullens, Joshua Dobbs and Jaren Hall in an injury-marred 2023. Production reached new heights with Sam Darnold, whose 1,634 play-action yards (third) and 16 touchdowns (tied for first) were a foundational piece of a breakout season.
Play-action yardage accounted for 37.8% of Darnold’s total last year.
This year? Neither Wentz nor McCarthy have found the same rhythm. They’ve combined to throw for 207 play-action yards, or 18.5% of the team’s passing yardage.
But the most recent win over the Browns showed a step forward.
Wentz completed a season-high 8 of 14 play-action throws for 91 yards against Cleveland. Creative designs by the coaching staff helped open throwing lanes with fake handoffs while still getting the ball out of Wentz’s hands quickly. Coaches showed not every play-action pass needs to be a lengthy seven-step drop. These plays were also critical in giving the offense’s best players like Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison and company chances to run after the catch.
The first snap of the five-play clip below shows Jefferson motioning into the backfield, settling in at running back behind the actual runner, Jordan Mason, who lines up like a fullback and takes a quick play-action fake before Wentz throws to Jefferson in the flat for 11 fast yards. But there’s still meat on the bone in the play-action game. The video below also shows receiver Jalen Nailor slipping during an incompletion and Wentz missing Jefferson on a high throw.