Jared Goff’s play-action success has Rams offense rolling again

Jared Goff is back in a groove on play action after struggling in 2019.

Play action was a staple of the Rams offense in 2017 and 2018. They were one of the most successful teams on play-action passes those two years, with Jared Goff being particularly sharp on such plays.

But his production on play action fell off a cliff in 2019. He threw just two touchdown passes and five interceptions on play action, posting a passer rating of only 85.1 compared to 87.0 on regular dropbacks.

Whether it was his own inaccuracy, the lack of a consistent running game or a porous offensive line that caused the drop-off is not exactly clear, but a combination of the three led to poor production on play-action passes.

It’s still early in the season, but Goff has been significantly better on play action. Through two games, he has completed 20 of 27 passes for 270 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions, good for a passer rating of 130.2 on play action.

In Week 2 alone, he had 12 completions off play action, which was the most of any quarterback, according to Pro Football Focus. Sean McVay has gone heavy on play-action calls so far, too.

A whopping 48% of Goff’s dropbacks have featured some sort of play action, which is the highest rate in the NFL.

One example of a brilliant play-action call by McVay can be seen below on Goff’s 28-yard touchdown pass to Tyler Higbee against the Eagles. The fake handoff to Darrell Henderson draws up the linebackers and most of the defense, while Higbee slips out through the traffic by beating his defender in man coverage.

It’s an easy throw for Goff, and one he didn’t miss.

While that play created a deep shot to Higbee, this one was even more creative and brilliant. The fake handoff gets everyone flowing to the right, thinking it’s a run to the strong side. Even Cooper Kupp pretends to block down the line, selling the run fake until Goff pops out in the backfield with the ball still in his hands.

The defensive backs catch up to the receivers downfield, leaving Kupp wide open underneath for a 19-yard gain.

Expect the Rams to continue featuring a heavy dose of play-action passes as the season goes on, especially with the ground game humming right now. Defenses have to respect the run and with the way McVay designs these plays, everything looks almost the same – whether it’s an outside run or a bootleg off play action.

McVay and the Rams offense are rolling and it’s becoming difficult to stop them.

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