Commanders' Kliff Kingsbury on Why Offenses Are Moving More Than Ever

There's been an increase in motion used around the NFL, and Washington Commanders' offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury has noticed.

Sep 29, 2024; Glendale, Arizona, USA; Washington Commanders offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury against the Arizona Cardinals in the second half at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images / Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Ashburn, VA. -- If you're watching NFL football these days and thinking you're seeing more movement from teams like the Washington Commanders than ever, you'd be correct.

This year alone, Commanders offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury has dialed up some sort of pre or at-snap motion that fundamentally changes the base formation his unit came to the line in 78 times through six games.

That number is up from his time prior to Washington when he last called plays as the head coach of the Arizona Cardinals. In 2022, his last season there, that offense changed its base formation 72 times in the same sample size. The year before that it was 60. So you could say there's been an elevation in motion usage, but it's not just Kingsbury.

Sep 29, 2024; Glendale, Arizona, USA; Washington Commanders offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury against the Arizona Cardinals in the second half at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images / Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

"I think the game is just cyclical and people will see certain teams doing it that have had a level of success and then it's like, 'Oh okay, well we could add that and we could do it this way and add this wrinkle,'" Kingsbury said about the rise in motion - at-snap motion specifically. "And so I think that's what you're going through and I'm sure it'll transition to something else here in a few months. But yeah, it's definitely picked up. I see a lot of people doing it and I know it's a challenge for defenses."

94 of the Commanders' 215 dropbacks this season have featured some sort of motion. But even that 44 percent rate is not very high when compared to the rest of the league.

While Washington is using motion on nearly half its dropbacks, the league leader is the Houston Texans who have motioned on 175 out of 252 total opportunities in the passing game alone. That's a 69 percent usage rate.

The Commanders have also used motion on 46 percent of their run plays, ranking them somewhere in the middle of the NFL pack.

Kingsbury is right, of course, and it may be the growing fad right now, but it'll be shortly forgotten when the next one emerges. Who knows what that'll be?

For now, Washington is enjoying the current trend where its offense ranks much higher in production statistics compared to usage numbers - a clear sign that the team has been very effective exploiting this latest NFL trend.

*data used in this article provided primarily by Sports Info Solutions

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