'You Have Everything': Why Falcons Offense Made Pistol Formation a Focal Point

The Atlanta Falcons' new-look offense features extensive pistol formations -- which is a core philosophical idea to first-year offensive coordinator Zac Robinson.

Atlanta Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins ran more passes from the pistol formation in Week 1 than any game in his NFL career. / Dale Zanine-Imagn Images

When the Atlanta Falcons began building their offense during the start of spring practice in April, a group spearheaded by quarterback Kirk Cousins, offensive coordinator Zac Robinson and offensive line coach and run game coordinator Dwayne Ledford put their heads together and talked.

By the end of their conversations, they settled on what Cousins dubbed a big fundamental philosophy -- the pistol formation.

Lined up four yards behind the center, the quarterback has a running back directly behind him. It's something Cousins has experience in dating back to the start of his NFL career with the now-Washington Commanders, but never as much as the Falcons wanted.

Entering Sunday's 18-10 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers in the season opener, Cousins had never eclipsed 10 snaps from the pistol. The Falcons ran 26 plays out of the pistol against the Steelers -- 81% of them were running plays.

Initially, minds pondered whether Cousins was healthy -- could he not take drops under center? Why no play action, which he'd done so successfully in prior stops with the Commanders and Minnesota Vikings?

The Falcons answered both questions each day during OTAs and training camp, as Cousins navigated through a variety of formations. Robinson said Thursday his Week 1 play-calling was unaffected by Cousins' recovery from a torn Achilles in Week 8 last season, and Falcons head coach Raheem Morris noted earlier in the week he believes Cousins is healthy.

Thus, the pistol was much more about Atlanta's new-look offense under Robinson than anything else -- it's something the first-year play-caller grew intrigued by last year when he was the Los Angeles Rams' quarterback coach.

"We realized like, 'Man, you really have everything at your disposal because you're in the dot, you have your play pass -- You have everything. You have your drop back pass still intact there," Robinson said. "So, I like what the versatility of the pistol does bring.

"But we'll continue to mix it and it’ll be base to base on a week-to-week basis.”

Cousins agreed with Robinson's assessment that the pistol is, in a sense, the best of both worlds between operating under center and from the shotgun.

"I think you obviously can give some space from the pass rush, and then you also still can have good meshes with your run game," Cousins said. "So, that's kind of the thought behind it."

But there's more than meets the eyes to the fundamentals of the pistol.

Cousins has re-worked his stance, as the coaching staff told him to stand however he wants. He's reverted back to the way he started: squared with the center.

When Cousins entered the league in 2012, he was the backup to Robert Griffin III, an electrifying athlete whose play style forced Washington to incorporate zone reads. As such, the pistol carried a significance presence.

By the time Kevin O'Connell took over as the Minnesota Vikings' head coach in 2022, Cousins had grown accustomed to taking pistol snaps with his right foot forward.

But O'Connell wanted to try the opposite approach, so Cousins spent 2022 with his left foot up. In 2023, Minnesota went back to what worked best for Cousins -- his right foot forward.

So, when Cousins arrived in Atlanta, he started with his right foot in front of his left. But the Falcons' coaching staff told him to stand however he wanted, so he began evaluating his options.

As the Falcons worked through the first few weeks of their offseason program in April, Cousins felt closed off to the right -- a technical issue he believes limited himself from the pistol formation.

"Handing the ball off, the back is on you really quick in the pistol. Under center, he's not on you as quick," Cousins said. "I thought turning right with my right foot forward like I've been in the past, in the pistol, it's hard to do because I'm kind of closed off. It's hard to get open to the back the way I want."

So, Cousins decided to change his stance. He went into the film archives and studied Hall of Fame quarterback Peyton Manning, who had success in the pistol with a square stance. Cousins saw Manning's comfort and rhythm, and after looking at his own tape from 2013, he decided to make the change back to a more squared base.

"It's been a constant evolution," Cousins said of his stance. "But you're always kind of working through it and felt like square stance in the pistol made the most sense."

Cousins added he's currently most comfortable being square, since that's how he's taken all of his pistol snaps this summer.

But for the 36-year-old Cousins, comfort extends beyond the pistol. He feels at home in a variety of alignments, from pistol to under center or out of the shotgun. It's something he's become well-acquainted with throughout his 13-year professional career.

"I think it's a little bit of, ‘You call it, I got to go ball it,’" Cousins said. "I’ve played in so many systems. I think I've had nine play callers on three different teams. So, you've learned to kind of say, ‘Hey, what do you want to do? What do you believe in? Teach me it and let me go learn it and do it.’

"That's kind of always been my approach going back seven, eight, nine play callers."

But in Week 1, Robinson almost solely called two formations -- the pistol and shotgun. Of Atlanta's 50 offensive snaps, 48 came from those looks. Cousins went under center on the other two: An end-around handoff to running back Bijan Robinson and a late-game spike. There were no traditional under center drops.

Cousins has historically thrived under center. Zac Robinson, from his Los Angeles discovery of the versatility provided from the pistol, plans on bringing more diversity to Atlanta's offense.

It's a process Robinson feels will be adaptive each week.

"I think some of the run game and how we set it up, we'll change those things week to week," Robinson said about a lack of under center snaps for Cousins. "We're never married to one thing or the other. Those things will ever be evolving based on the game plan that week. But certainly like the pistol."

For Week 1, that plan included a heavy dose of pistol against a vaunted Steelers front. Robinson said Atlanta felt good about its plan entering Mercedes-Benz Stadium, but the game flow and results steered his play calling in the direction it did: pushing Cousins away from center Drew Dalman.

Pittsburgh's defense disrupted Atlanta's flow, not only making life difficult for the Falcons' offense but condensing Robinson's playbook in the process.

"That's a really good defense," Robinson said. "They got good schemes. They have great camaraderie across the board. There's really no weaknesses in their defense. So certainly they've presented some challenges schematically and obviously with their personnel that made it different.

"But I think if we operate and execute the way we can, it could be a different story. But obviously they did their business and we didn't take care of it."

Atlanta's aerial attack struggled against Pittsburgh, as Cousins went 16-of-26 for 155 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions in his first game back since tearing his Achilles in Week 8 last season.

The Falcons' longest completed pass play was 20 yards, from Cousins to receiver Ray-Ray McCloud. Cousins averaged only six yards per attempt.

After the game, Falcons receiver Darnell Mooney noted the Steelers' secondary played in a way that forced Atlanta to keep everything underneath, which resulted in Bijan Robinson leading the team with five receptions.

And between the few snaps under center and overall lack of vertical shots, the Cousins-related health question emerged as an idea to provide context behind Zac Robinson's play-calling.

Robinson shut it down.

"Absolutely not," Robinson said when asked if Cousins's health impacted his calls. "It just kind of went with the flow of the game. ... So, certainly not concerned with Kirk's mobility at all. He's looked great out there. He's moving around really well [in practice]. So no concerns at all."

Robinson cited the Falcons' first half offensive flashes, which included a field goal on the opening drive and a touchdown on the unit's final possession. Those two series were the only nine-plus-play drives Atlanta's offense produced.

The Falcons were shut out in the second half. Robinson noted penalties and other self-inflicted errors put Atlanta behind the chains and into tough situations, where drop-back passing became prioritized.

As a result, the Falcons exited Sunday with few signs of play action or bootleg concepts, both of which fit Cousins' game quite well.

"I think, again, the flow of the game and how things went," Robinson said. "There were some that were called that, based on the defensive look, didn't end up getting called. So I think those will continue to be mixed in.

"But certainly the way the game plan went and the way the just overall flow of the game kind of took us out of a few of those things."

In essence, the Falcons still haven't shown much of their offense. Against Pittsburgh, Atlanta unveiled something new -- the pistol formation it worked on throughout the spring and summer, stemming from the April conversations between Cousins, Robinson and the rest of the staff.

And while the Falcons abided by a strict identity in Week 1, there remains much more to see -- starting at 8:15 p.m. Monday, when Atlanta battles the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field.

"We love the pistol. We love being underneath the center when it calls for it. We love being in the shotgun," Robinson said. "We'll continue to mix those things up. But certainly the game plan going into it was what it was. And we'll just kind of keep it moving."