Play-action passing has been a hot topic on twitter all summer. The debate about if you need to run the ball to create play-action opportunities or if play-action works by itself continue to roll along on social media.

Teams who were heavy running this type of pass play were getting praised early on. The Cowboys and the Ravens were prime examples with them starting off throwing play-action passes more than 40% of the time to start the season. These play calls were leading to huge plays as teams were focused on stopping the run and were getting beat over the top.

The Raiders did not follow suit with the top offenses in the league. Jon Gruden’s offense kept their philosophy from the previous season calling play action passes 21.3% of the time, which was 26th in the NFL, according to Pro Football Focus.

In 2018, Derek Carr was 35th among eligible quarterbacks in the same metric, with only 18.1% of his dropbacks having play-action fakes.

After a rough 1-2 start and an embarrassing loss to the Vikings in Minnesota, Gruden did a deep dive into the offense. What he found was a play-action passing game that has led the Raiders to two straight wins.

The Raiders are third in the NFL the past two weeks in play-action percentage per drop back according to pro football focus. Carr is using these dropbacks 33.8% and has completed 17 out of 20 passes. He has thrown a touchdown during that span mixing in a perfect outing against the Bears going 10/10 with 92 yards passing.

Most of the Raiders downfield throws that last two games have come off the play-action fake. Let’s take a look at Gruden’s best designs out of the play-action pass.

19-Yard Touchdown to Foster Moreau

The Raiders first upset this year was against the Indianapolis Colts, where the Raiders displayed they will not be an easy out. The first big play of the game was a 19-yard touchdown on the opening drive to Foster Moreau. The play set the table for the massive win on the road.

Raiders lined up in 12 personnel, which has been their primary package throughout the season. Moreau is lined up on the right side of the formation in a jumbo package with Darren Waller.

They will be running the scissors concept out of the play-action fake. Scissors is a post and a corner route on the same side of the field, and it is excellent to use against a cover 2 football team like the Colts.

After the snap, The two tight ends get a clean release with Waller doing a great job of being patient to stack behind Moreau. Carr had both options for a touchdown with Waller freeing up behind the linebackers. He decided to throw to Moreau in the honey hole of the cover 2 defense, and the fourth-round pick makes an acrobatic catch for the early touchdown.

21-yard throw to Trevor Davis

The Raiders didn’t throw the ball down the field much against the Bears, mainly because their defense was playing deep zone coverage throughout the game. Carr only had two attempts over 10 yards, but both were explosive plays. One of them was on the first drive with a 21-yard strike to Trevor Davis.

In this play, the Raiders are 22 personnel(two running backs, two tight ends) with Davis as the only wide receiver on the field. He will be running a deep curl in the middle of the field with the running backs as check-down options. The Bears will be running cover 3 with a single high safety roaming the middle and the corners dropping into their thirds.

The play-action fake sucks up the linebackers initially, and the offensive line creates an incredible pocket for Carr with Mack being doubled at the top of the video. Jacobs running to the flat forces a linebacker to slightly move to the right, opening up a lane for Carr to make a throw.

Davis uses his speed to force the Bears defensive backs to bail, selling the deep post accelerating at top speed during the stem of his route.

He then stops on a dime for the Curl route, and Carr exhibits anticipation with the ball already in the air. He zips it right into Davis’s stomach for the Raider’s biggest passing play of the game.

Raider nation has been asking for more play-action for years, and the time is finally here. The strategy is leading to wins, and the offense is seventh in the NFL in offensive EPA per play. Gruden was confused the first three weeks without Antonio Brown in the fold, but the old man has got his groove back.