As the Atlanta Falcons emerge from their bye week, head coach Raheem Morris is prioritizing an often-underutilized aspect of his team’s offense: the play-action pass.
In a season where offensive consistency has been hard to come by, Morris believes increasing their reliance on play action could unlock the unit’s potential heading into the season’s critical stretch.
“It’s something that we want to increase, something that we want to do better, something that we want to make more important, more a part of our game,” Morris said via the team’s website. His remarks come after an 11-game stretch in which the Falcons ran play action on just 14% of dropbacks, tied for the league’s lowest rate. Even more concerning, only 8% of all Atlanta’s plays featured play-action passes, making them the only team in the NFL under 10% through Week 12, per Next Gen Stats.
The lack of play-action integration is puzzling for a team built around a strong rushing attack. With dynamic running backs like Bijan Robinson and Tyler Allgeier, the Falcons possess the personnel to sell the fake handoff effectively, forcing defenders to hesitate and opening up opportunities in the passing game. Yet, as Morris admitted, these plays have been left on the shelf far too often.
“We have ’em, we got ’em,” Morris said of the play-action plays in Atlanta’s arsenal. “They’ve always been in our program and always will be a part of our program, but it’s something that we definitely neglected.”
Part of the issue earlier in the season may have been the lingering effects of Kirk Cousins’ Achilles injury, which initially limited his mobility. However, Morris was quick to dismiss that as a current concern, emphasizing that the offense has simply leaned too heavily on its quick-game passing and traditional dropbacks, even when opportunities for play-action calls were available.
For a coach with an offensive coordinator like Zac Robinson—who came from Sean McVay’s system, where play action is a staple—the lack of usage is even more surprising. Under McVay, play action has been a hallmark of offensive success, and teams like the Rams and Lions are thriving with high usage rates. The Rams currently employ play action on 27.6% of dropbacks, the seventh-highest in the league, while the Lions lead with an impressive 38.1%.
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The numbers back up the effectiveness of the play-action pass, particularly for a quarterback like Cousins. Since 2016, Cousins has run play action on 24% of his dropbacks, ranking 10th among quarterbacks during that span, per the Falcons’ website. The added dimension could simplify reads for Cousins and create more opportunities for explosive plays, something the Falcons’ offense has lacked in recent weeks.
Morris acknowledged that part of the underutilization stemmed from the team’s success in other areas. “It just so happens that we have had success in so many different areas on offense when it came to passing the football in our dropback game, in our quick game, or even running the football,” he explained. But with a division lead hanging by a thread, the Falcons can no longer afford to neglect a proven weapon.
Coming out of the bye week, the Falcons will face the Los Angeles Chargers, a team with defensive vulnerabilities that Atlanta could exploit through play action. For Morris, the focus will be on integrating this element seamlessly into the game plan, ensuring that the offense becomes more dynamic and less predictable.
The stakes are high as the Falcons cling to a slim one-game lead in the NFC South. With division rivals breathing down their necks, the margin for error is razor-thin. Unlocking the full potential of their offense—through play action and otherwise—may determine whether Atlanta can hold onto their playoff aspirations.
For Morris and the Falcons, this is more than just a tweak to the playbook. It’s a strategic shift aimed at maximizing their strengths and putting their playmakers in the best possible position to succeed. If executed correctly, the increase in play-action usage could be the key to not just salvaging their season but positioning themselves as legitimate contenders in the division.
