Pistol Formation

A short Shotgun: the quarterback stands about four yards behind the center with the running back directly behind him instead of beside him.

Tip: Look for a short Shotgun with the back straight behind the quarterback, not beside him.

How to Spot It

Pistol looks like a short Shotgun. The quarterback stands about four yards behind the center, so he is not under center, the spot right behind the center where a quarterback takes the ball straight from his hands. The running back lines up straight behind him, a few yards deeper.

That last detail is the giveaway. In Shotgun the back stands beside the quarterback. In Pistol he stands behind him, so you see two red O's in a short line behind the center. Compare it with Singleback too: there the quarterback is right against the center, not four yards back.

The rest of the field can look like almost anything, from two tight ends to three or four receivers. Read the backfield first and the rest falls into place.

When Teams Use It

Pistol tries to keep the best of both worlds. The back takes the handoff while already moving straight ahead, much as he would behind a quarterback under center, and the quarterback still has some depth to see the defense. Because the back is not set off to one side, the defense also gets no hint about which way the run is going.

Teams with running quarterbacks like it for read-option plays, where the quarterback watches one defender and then decides whether to hand off or keep the ball. In the plays cover0 draws from, the Pistol jumped from 4.2 percent of plays in 2023 to 10.1 percent in 2024, then settled at 5.2 percent in 2025.

History

Nevada coach Chris Ault created the Pistol and first ran it in 2005. He wanted to mix the passing of a Shotgun spread offense with a downhill running game. About two years later he added the read option, and Colin Kaepernick ran the offense for him in college.

The NFL took notice in 2012. Kaepernick became the 49ers' starter that season, and San Francisco leaned on the Pistol down the stretch. In a January 2013 playoff win over Green Bay he ran for 181 yards, then a record for an NFL quarterback, and the 49ers reached the Super Bowl. That same season Washington built a Pistol and read-option attack around rookie Robert Griffin III.

Baltimore took it further in 2019. With Lamar Jackson at quarterback, the Ravens ran 569 plays from the Pistol, by PFF's count, while no other team ran more than 62. They also set the NFL record for team rushing yards in a season with 3,296.

Coaches Known for It

Chris Ault. Nevada's longtime head coach created the Pistol and first ran it in 2005. Colin Kaepernick ran it for him before taking it to the NFL.

Greg Roman. As the 49ers' offensive coordinator from 2011 to 2014, he brought pistol formations and designed quarterback runs into the offense for Kaepernick. After becoming Baltimore's coordinator in 2019, he built the league's most Pistol-heavy attack around Lamar Jackson.

Mike and Kyle Shanahan. In 2012 Mike Shanahan, Washington's head coach, and his son Kyle, the offensive coordinator, mixed the Pistol with read-option plays for rookie Robert Griffin III. Griffin was named the league's Offensive Rookie of the Year.

How Often It's Used

Share of the plays cover0 could label each season.

Season	Share
2016	3.7%
2017	1.5%
2018	1.8%
2019	3.2%
2020	3.2%
2021	2.8%
2022	4.2%
2023	4.2%
2024	10.1%
2025	5.2%

Charted by NFL Next Gen Stats through 2022 and by FTN Data from 2023, so part of any jump between 2022 and 2023 comes from the change of source.

Play Today's Plays

More offensive formations

Shotgun FormationThe quarterback stands about five yards behind the center with the running back beside him, giving him extra time to read the defense before he throws.61.5%Singleback FormationThe quarterback stands right behind the center with one running back about seven yards straight behind him, a balanced look for runs and play-action passes.21.7%I-FormationThe quarterback stands right behind the center with a fullback and a running back lined up behind him, forming a straight line built for power running.3.8%Empty FormationEmpty means nobody lines up beside or behind the quarterback: he stands alone in the shotgun while five receivers spread across the field.7.4%Jumbo FormationJumbo is the heavy package: extra linemen or three tight ends, no wide receivers and the quarterback under center, built to win the push at the goal line.0.4%Wildcat FormationIn the Wildcat a running back or another non-quarterback takes the snap in the shotgun, while the real quarterback splits out wide or leaves the field.—

Sources

Written for cover0. Usage numbers come from the play data credited on the About page.