NFL Stat of the Week: Under-center dropbacks are the new trend

Welcome to the Stat of the Week, where we use advanced metrics to uncover the trends, performances and strategic shifts shaping the NFL season.

Throughout most of pro football history, offenses did their things with the quarterbacks under center. The San Francisco 49ers of the 1960s and the Dallas Cowboys of the 1970s were the first modern franchises to put their quarterbacks in the shotgun on more than just a handful of gimmick plays, and the 2007 New England Patriots were the first team in recorded NFL history to be in the shotgun on more than half of their snaps. 

The pistol formation, which places the quarterback three yards from center as opposed to the 5-7 yards we see in shotgun, started to gain traction in the late 2000s, and over the last decade, the NFL has been far more of a pistol/shotgun league. 

NFL Stat of the Week: Under-center dropbacks increased 8% from 2025

But as has been the case throughout the eras, coaches will change with the times to gain any schematic advantage they possibly can. And that’s why we’ve seen more of a return to having quarterbacks under center. This really bore out in Week 1 of the 2026 season, per Sumer Sports. One week is obviously a smaller sample size, but to see the league bump from 15.2% to 23.2% overall, compared to last season’s Week 1, was quite something.

• 2022: 227 under-center dropbacks (out of 1,286 total, ~17.6%)
• 2023: 168 under-center dropbacks (out of 1,240 total, ~13.5%)
• 2024: 162 under-center dropbacks (out of 1,137 total, ~14.3%)
• 2025: 181 under-center dropbacks (out of 1,192 total, ~15.2%)
• 2026: 250 under-center dropbacks (out of 1,078 total, ~23.2%)

Moreover, the upticks in efficiency from under center were pretty remarkable. 

When in shotgun, quarterbacks completed 65.7% of 746 attempts for 7.09 yards per attempt, 40 touchdowns, 18 interceptions, 55 sacks, and a passer rating of 94.2.

When in pistol, quarterbacks completed 66.7% of 216 attempts for 9.00 yards per attempt, no touchdowns, no interceptions, two sacks, and a passer rating of 95.1.

When under center, quarterbacks completed 64.0% of 225 attempts for 7.64 yards per attempt, 13 touchdowns, four interceptions, 15 sacks, and a passer rating of 99.1.

As to why coaches want more of the old-school stuff, Sean McVay explained it to FanSided’s own Jason La Canfora this offseason. 

“There’s a lot of cool stuff with guys like Lamar [Jackson] and Caleb [Williams].” McVay said. “You can change the math [in the box] with offset gun fakes, and put that [defensive end] in conflict — is it a zone read? And some of that different action. But I would say this — we are big on marrying the run and pass, and the undercenter element does give you a cleaner action, at least for us. And that’s something going back to the foundation of what I learned under [Jon] Gruden and [Mike] Shanahan.

“You go back to Bill Walsh — the timing and rhythm of football is predicated on under-center drops. Three-step drops, five-step drops, seven-step drops. We adjust with shotgun, but you’re still taking your eyes off the defense. There are a lot of benefits to it. I’m not really revealing any trade secrets here. That is something we believe in.”

Lamar Jackson, Matthew Stafford, Josh Allen and more all participated in the under-center boom

Last season, including the playoffs (per Sports Info Solutions), Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford had the NFL’s most dropbacks from under center with 285, and he completed 175 of 267 such passes for 2,172 yards, 1,136 air yards, 29 touchdowns, one interception, and a passer rating of 125.2. So, that worked pretty well for McVay’s team.

The biggest beneficiary of the under center trend in Week 1 of the 2026 season may have been Seattle Seahawks quarterback Drew Lock, who came into Seattle’s season opener against the New England Patriots early on after Sam Darnold was injured. Lock had seven under center attempts, completing all seven, for 106 yards, 15.14 yards per attempt, one touchdown, no interceptions, and the highest possible passer rating of 158.3. 

Lock won’t be his team’s quarterback when Darnold is healthy, so let’s look at a guy who will be his team’s starting quarterback no matter what: Josh Allen. 

In the Buffalo Bills’ 36-31 Week 1 win over the Houston Texans, Allen went under center on 10 of his passing attempts, completing seven passes for 118 yards, no touchdowns, no interceptions, no sacks, three explosive plays, and a passer rating of 109.8. Between under center, play-action, and formation diversity, the Bills and Allen had the Texans’ defense, projected to be the NFL’s best in the 2026 season, on a string all day long. 

Finally, let’s look at Lamar Jackson in the Baltimore Ravens’ 41-23 Week 1 win over the Indianapolis Colts. Jackson is an interesting case because he wasn’t under center much last season under former offensive coordinator Todd Monken, but he did enjoy the highest increase in Passing EPA of any NFL quarterback in 2025 when he did so – from -0.125 when in shotgun/pistol to +0.439 when under center. The under center Lamar completed  38 of 49 passes on 61 under center dropbacks for 521 yards, 319 air yards, six touchdowns, one interception, and a passer rating of 142.0. 

New Ravens OC Declan Doyle comes from the Chicago Bears, who (along with head coach Ben Johnson, of course) had Caleb Williams under center at the NFL’s second-highest rate (211 dropbacks), behind only Stafford. Well, Jackson completed 6 of 8 under-center passes for 114 yards, no touchdowns, no interceptions, no sacks, and a passer rating of 116.7. And when you look at how Doyle and the Ravens worked all of that formation versatility into the mix, and how the threat of Lamar as a runner upends defenses in those instances, it’s clear that under center should be a big talking point for Baltimore this season.

The undercenter wave isn’t going away anytime soon; it’ll be around as long as passing games work better with it, and until defenses figure out ways to stop it. We’ll certainly see some of those ways this season — at least in theory — because it’s become clear that this is a new old-school way to get the most out of your offense.

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