The number of yards passed through the entire NFL is down as much as it has been in years, with this being one of the most evident trends taking place within the entire league.
Through the early portion of this year, the entire league is only compiling more than 208 yards per outing. This is significantly down from what would have been seen merely a few years ago.
With the passage that occurred within the year 2020, the entire league was registering more than 240 yards of passing per outing, as even as recently as the year 2022, the entire league averaged more than 225 yards of passing per outing.
With this being the case, however, the entire scope of the entire offense thus being registered within the entire year of 2025, with more than 323 yards being registered per outing for every team within the entire league, this being the lowest number in nearly two decades.
One of the most significant factors that contributed to the reduction in pass yardage is the type of defensive play being played.
Coordinators call two-safety, three-safety packages that are aimed entirely at denying any deep pass completions.
Such packages cause quarterbacks to look for shorter routes, showing more patience in their throws. At the same time, pass-rushers are getting to the quarterback much faster than they were last year, resulting in quick passes, fewer developing routes, and fewer big gains through the air.
Even if the passes do connect, they usually target shorter yardage. This is for a variety of reasons including a leaguewide change in view when it comes to offense as a whole.
A more important factor is the change that’s been seen in terms of offensive philosophy.
There is a marked increase in teams wanting to run the ball more, protecting their quarterbacks, as opposed to being pass-happy. There are fewer pass attempts per game, which, in itself, would mean fewer yards.
More conservative play-calling, with more focus on shorter passes, screens, and running, helps control the clock as well as prevent turnovers. Several offenses, in this new season, in the year of 2025, feature young quarterbacks, so there is bound to be more simplicity, fewer deep passes, thus fewer yards.
However, the introduction of the new kickoff rule also quietly influenced the number of passes. In fact, the dynamic kickoff rule was permanently enacted in the year 2025, with the objective of increasing returns as opposed to touchbacks.
With this rule, touchbacks will now result in the placement of the ball on the 35-yard line as opposed to the previous rule, which placed the ball on the 30-yard line.
Consequently, this move significantly encourages teams to advance the ball. With that, the rate of kickoffs being returned in this current season is already expected to record the highest statistics since the year 2010.
Due to this, the distance that offenses cover will be reduced. Consequently, there will be fewer drives that largely depend on passes.
However, the culmination of all this is that there is a different form of football than that which was witnessed in the high-flying passing eras of the last half of the 2010’s through the early 2020’s.
Although the figures show that there is a reduction in the number of passes being thrown, the fact is that scoring isn’t being shut down. More than 23 points per contest, on average per team, through the first year of 2025, reflects that.
If this keeps up, the year that will be remembered as the year that the pass-first era of the NFL will come to a close might turn out to be the year that is taking place in 2025.
Whether this will be a phase that briefly takes place or will last for a much more extended period in the years that come will be determined down the line. What is for sure now is that the professional league that is taking place right now is a different one.
