- Standardized run concepts hit historic highs: Outside zone runs accounted for 27% of all NFL rushing plays last season, marking the highest rate recorded since PFF began tracking run concepts in 2014.
- Specialized run plays fall to record lows: The NFL logged just 918 power-run concepts last season, the fewest since the PFF era began, as offenses abandoned schematic variety.
- Predictable schemes limit elite talent: Despite boasting Bijan Robinson, the Atlanta Falcons finished 17th in rushing EPA and 26th in yards before contact due to a highly predictable rushing structure that utilized power concepts just twice all year.
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.
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