Back to the future: Schematic shifts defining first quarter of 2025 NFL season reminiscent of early 2000s

CBS Sports | American Football | 10/04/2025

Photo: Imagn Images

What scheme changes are helping teams win in 2025?

By JP Acosta

The first quarter of the NFL season is here, and there’s really quite a bit to unpack. Daniel Jones and the Colts: probably good? The Baltimore Ravens: probably bad?

Yet, the biggest things that are really helping define the first part of the season are the schematic changes and shifts helping NFL teams gain an edge on the field. There’s nothing truly new under the sun, the cyclical nature of NFL schematics always bringing what we thought was old news back to the forefront as ideas get passed around the league. 2025 is no different, with old becoming new again in the NFL. With that being said, here are some schematic shifts that are defining the first portion of the 2025 season.

Under center dropback is back

Welcome back to 2004 folks. I was four years old that year, Wendy’s still had yellow cups and the NFL was establishing the run at will. Passers would drop back straight from under center and throw quickly like nobody’s business.

This year, the NFL is embracing its roots and getting back into the under center dropback game. According to TruMedia, five of the top seven under center dropback passing rates come from this season, with the Los Angeles Rams, Seattle Seahawks and Buffalo Bills leading the way as the top three units in this metric in 2025. If you combine this with the under center rate constantly going up in the NFL over the last three years, you get a notable trend of teams beginning to turn back the clock to move the game forward.

Under center dropbacks are becoming more common because teams became siloed in the past when being under center. The only passing concepts were play-action using deep pockets and shot plays downfield. As defenses began to adjust, the answer became to send pressure through the A-gaps as the QB has his back turned, torpedoing the passing concept because there’s an unaccounted for blitzer in the QBs face.

So, to keep defenses on their toes and prevent the offense from becoming predictable, under center dropbacks started to make their return. Being under center but going straight dropback allows for the QB to constantly keep their eyes on the defense, being able to diagnose pressures and rotating coverages, a theme in a modern NFL defense. Most of the leaders in under center dropbacks are members of the Shanahan tree, using it as another build into an offense that wants to use the rotations of the defense against them.

The Seahawks under offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak have run a lot of really cool stuff from under center in their straight dropback game, including this explosive against the Saints, where they’re able to get five out in the passing game and still be under center. Using under center passing with no play action, Sam Darnold is averaging 9.5 Yards per Attempt and an Average Throw Depth of 12.4 yards. The Seahawks go for chunk plays from under center, and can get to it in different ways. This five step sail concept is really cool because you get the running back out into the flat, and Darnold rips this pass over the linebacker.