It's the postseason in the NFL! Thirty-two teams started with dreams of a championship, and now 14 remain.
The 2024 season will not be remembered for schematic revolution -- not on the scale of the Shanahan system or the RPO (run-pass option), when one idea becomes a winner and the league follows suit. Instead, it was a year for quiet innovation. Individual offenses that had always been at the forefront of the league meta, such as the Packers and the Rams, introduced new wrinkles to stay ahead of the curve. New assistants, such as Vic Fangio in Philadelphia and Aaron Kromer in Buffalo, installed personnel packages that added depth to existing contenders. And Brian Flores (Minnesota) and Aaron Glenn (Detroit) blitzed their butts off all season.
Let's go deep on the coolest scheme and personnel innovations I've seen from the playoff teams this season. It's not comprehensive -- I didn't get the Chiefs' unbalanced sets or the Broncos' screen game in there -- nor is it meant to highlight the best schemes or most important matchups. It's just the sickest stuff that the best teams are up to these days, and why they might be important over the next month.
Jump to a section:
GB | PHI | DET/MIN
BUF | LAR
Green Bay Packers: Single wing run game
Running out of the shotgun is hard.
This is an unavoidable truth of the NFL: It is harder to run from the gun than it is to run from under center. There are ways to tip the scales, of course, like involving the quarterback in the running game with option plays. Using RPOs to hold defenders in the second level. Using the pistol instead of the gun to disguise the side of the quarterback on which the ball will be handed off. But they are all solutions to the problem -- that running from the gun is hard.