Play-action is designed to give opposing defenses fits. When it works, defenses think it’s a run play and crash down to contain the running back. Suddenly, the quarterback pulls the ball out and hits a wide receiver or tight end who is suddenly behind those crashing defenders. It’s incredibly effective and gives defenses fits. Unless you’re the Pittsburgh Steelers, of course.
In 2025, the Steelers averaged more yards per play on standard passes than on play-action passes. According to Aaron Schatz, the Steelers had the worst split between the two in terms of yards per play. Last season also marked the 11th straight year the Steelers were better on standard passes than play-action passes.
Last year, the #Steelers had the league’s biggest reverse split on play action. They had just 4.2 yards per play with play action compared to 6.5 on pass plays without it.
This was the *11th* straight year the Steelers had a reverse split even though most teams are better with…
— Aaron Schatz 🏈 (@ASchatzNFL) April 9, 2026
As Schatz pointed out, most teams see a boost when they use play-action passes. Not only does it fool defenses, but it also makes life a bit easier on the quarterback. Unfortunately for the Steelers, it’s been the exact opposite. Not just in 2025 under QB Aaron Rodgers and offensive coordinator Arthur Smith, either. This has been a categorical problem for the Steelers under multiple offensive coordinators and with multiple quarterbacks. It boggles the mind that this level of ineptitude has permeated the Steelers’ offense for so long when it comes to play-action passes.
Heck, for Rodgers, 2025 was one of the worst seasons he’s had throwing play-action passes. He averaged 5.5 yards on play-action pass attempts, according to Pro Football Focus. That’s the lowest average in a season for him since he averaged 5.4 yards in 2015. Last season was also the first time since 2018 that he had fewer yards per attempt on play-action than standard passes.
Could the Steelers’ play-action failure change under the new Steelers head coach, Mike McCarthy? Well, play-action is a point of emphasis for him. During McCarthy’s introductory press conference, he discussed his offensive ideas. For him, it all starts with the run game and, by extension, the play-action game.
“I’m a believer in the tradition of the West Coast offense, and the first thing that always came to mind was the offense needs to be built to make the quarterback successful, as simplistic as it is,” McCarthy said. “And that starts with running the football. You gotta run the football, because if you don’t run the football and you don’t tailor your protection schemes and the play-action pass game to the run game, obviously it’s not gonna affect the defense and have the benefits of what you’re looking for.”
The Steelers have a long way to go before their roster is finalized. We expect that the Steelers will add more wide receivers in the upcoming NFL draft, thanks to their lack of depth at the position. They could also add more offensive linemen in the draft. We also don’t know (for certain) who the quarterback will be this year.
However, schematically, the Steelers will focus on getting much better at play-action passes in 2026. That’s part of Mike McCarthy’s offensive philosophy. Hopefully, 2025 will be the last year we see the Steelers get actively worse when utilizing play-action.
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