The NFL returns to our lives this week, which also means you’ll be hearing a lot of talk about RPOs, or run-pass option, over the next few months.

That was certainly the case at the end of last season, when it seemed like every play-action pass the Eagles ran out of a shotgun formation was labeled an RPO. Cris Collinsworth threw the phrase A LOT during the Super Bowl, but a lot of the plays he may have thought were RPOs, actually weren’t.

Our goal here is to make sure you don’t have to rely on commentators to figure out when teams are running an RPO, which should happen a dozen times or so in the Thursday night opener.

Let’s start by explaining what an RPO is…

As the name implies, a run-pass option gives the quarterback the option to hand the ball off to his back or throw a quick pass to a receiver. He makes the decision based on the movement of a single defender, usually a safety or linebacker lurking on the second level of the defense, directly after the snap.

As the graphic explains, if the defender who is being read comes up to defend the run, the quarterback will pull the ball and throw a pass. If that defender stays put or drops into coverage, the QB hands it off. The theory is, that the defender is always “wrong,” no matter which decision he makes. The defense either has one fewer defender to defend the pass or one fewer defender to defend the run.

Let’s take a look at two examples (one run, one pass) from the last time the Eagles and Falcons played…

So how do you identify a run-pass option while watching at home? Here are a few key things to look at…

1. The offensive line

Keep an eye on how aggressive the offensive line is after the snap. If they are going forward and blocking downfield as if they were run blocking, but the quarterback ends up passing the ball, you are probably looking at an RPO.

If the line were strictly pass blocking, you’d see the linemen dropping back rather than moving forward. The offensive tackles will really give it away. Here’s an example of a play that might look like an RPO but was really just a designed pass. Keep an eye on the offensive tackles…

2. The receivers

Now if a quarterback hands the ball off on an RPO, the best way to diagnose it is by looking at the receivers. Are they running routes or are they blocking for the running back? If they are running routes on a hand off, it’s probably an RPO.

This is an RPO…

This is not…

3. The quarterback

This is the final tell, and also the least reliable because teams will have the quarterback act as if he’s reading a defender just to freeze the defense. We see that in the example from the Eagles-Vikings game above.

But if the line is run-blocking, and the receivers are running routes AND the quarterbacks eyes are fixated on a single defender, then there’s a very good chance you are watching an RPO in action.

If even just one of those things doesn’t happen on a play, though, you’re looking at a regular old football play. And if the commentator calls it an RPO, feel free to scream at your television.