The Great Correction: Why the NFL's Return to Under Center is a Tactical Necessity, Not a Nostalgia Trip

Let's get one thing straight: the sudden resurgence of the quarterback under center isn't some sentimental longing for the days of leather helmets. It is a cold, hard tactical correction. For years, the NFL drifted into a state of offensive predictability, trading the complexity of traditional formations for the comfort of the shotgun. Now, the pendulum is swinging back with a vengeance, and the results are staring us in the face.

As Sports Illustrated first reported, the opening week of the 2026 season marked a seismic shift. For the first time since 2017, the NFL saw its highest percentage of snaps with the quarterback under center. This wasn't a marginal increase; it was a league-wide overhaul. Data from SumerSports reveals that ten teams saw their under-center usage jump by at least 10% compared to their 2025 averages, a group that included the Bengals, Commanders, Lions, Cardinals, Falcons, Jaguars, Ravens, Jets, 49ers, and Raiders.

The impact was immediate and explosive. Sports Illustrated reports that the league witnessed its highest average scoring for a Week 1 since the AFL-NFL merger, falling just one touchdown short of the all-time record for total points in an opening week. More tellingly, twelve different teams ran less than 50% of their snaps from the shotgun. For the first time since at least 2022, SumerSports notes that the league recorded a positive EPA (Expected Points Added) per play on snaps taken under center.

To understand why this is happening, you have to understand how broken the shotgun era became. For a decade, the league was obsessed with the Air Raid influence—a trend accelerated by Andy Reid adapting the Texas Tech style for Patrick Mahomes. This shift turned the NFL into a "spectacle of human lasers," but it also created a comfort zone for college quarterbacks who were never taught the nuances of the under-center game.

Sports Illustrated highlights the role of Mike McDaniel in this evolution. While serving as the rushing guru for Kyle Shanahan in San Francisco, McDaniel helped adapt run concepts into a shotgun disguise. This was a necessity because Jimmy Garoppolo, then the franchise quarterback, struggled significantly under center. In 2019, Garoppolo ranked among the top seven quarterbacks in completion percentage, pass rating, and target-directed passes from the shotgun, but plummeted to among the bottom 12 in pass rating and completion percentage when operating under center. This trend, combined with the success of Lamar Jackson's "Navy-style" rushing attack in Baltimore, convinced coaches to keep their passers in the shotgun for better visibility and comfort.

But comfort is the enemy of efficiency. As one veteran defensive coach told Sports Illustrated, the shotgun is simply too easy to defend. In a shotgun look, the "front seven" often benefit from a "double confirmation" of the play. First, certain runs are physically possibile to execute from a shotgun alignment. Second, the positioning of the running back relative to the quarterback allows defenders to eliminate vast portions of the playbook, narrowing the offense's options to a small subset of runs.

Furthermore, the shotgun provides glaring tells. Sports Illustrated reports that offensive lines frequently signal the play by having the center slide in the opposite direction of the running back. Personnel groupings are also easier to identify as they leave the huddle. For defensive tackles, the shotgun is a dream; for offensive coordinators, it's a cage.

By returning to under-center looks, offenses are stripping away these advantages. It forces defensive tackles to operate with less visibility and removes the ability to anticipate plays based on alignment. The result is a more authentic play-action game. The numbers back this up: statistician Neil Greenberg, cited by Sports Illustrated, notes that over the last decade, passes from the shotgun produced 0.05 EPA per play, while passes from under center produced 0.15 EPA per play. Coaches reviewing Week 1 film noted that even simple checkdown passes appeared more viable under this system.

This shift is already being embraced by the league's rising offensive minds. Sports Illustrated points to Ben Johnson, now with the Bears, who utilized the under-center formation with Caleb Williams during Johnson's first season. Other teams are following suit with similar aggression. The Giants, for example, saw quarterback Jaxson Dart spend 26.5% more time under center in Week 1 of this year than he did in Week 1 of 2025.

This isn't about bringing back the "White Album" of football for the sake of nostalgia. It is about the fact that the shotgun had become a predictable crutch. The NFL has spent years optimizing for quarterback comfort, and in doing so, they made the game too easy for the defense. The 2026 season is proving that when you remove the safety blanket of the shotgun, the offense doesn't just survive—it thrives.