Shotgun Formation

The 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.

Tip: Find the deepest red O behind the center; if it sits about five yards back with a back beside it, not behind it, you are looking at Shotgun.

How to Spot It

Start with the red O's behind the center. In Shotgun the quarterback stands about five yards back and the ball is snapped to him through the air. The other way to take a snap is under center, where the quarterback stands right behind the center and takes the ball straight from his hands. A gap of several yards between the center and the quarterback is your first clue.

Next, find the running back. In Shotgun he usually stands beside the quarterback, level with him or a step ahead, on the left or the right. Sometimes there is no back at all and every other player splits out wide. Either way, nobody lines up directly behind the quarterback.

Then look outside. Shotgun often comes with three or more receivers spread across the field and one tight end, a big player who lines up next to a tackle and can block or catch. Wide spacing plus a deep quarterback is the classic Shotgun picture.

When Teams Use It

Shotgun is the go-to look for passing. The extra depth gives the quarterback a moment more to read the coverage and see the rush coming. Third and long, the two-minute drill at the end of a half and any time a team is behind late will bring it out almost every time.

Teams run from it too, with draws, quick handoffs and option plays where the quarterback reads a defender before deciding to keep the ball or give it. In the plays cover0 draws from, Shotgun was the most common formation in every season, used on 52.7 percent of plays in 2016 and 56.4 percent in 2022.

History

San Francisco 49ers coach Red Hickey unveiled the Shotgun on November 27, 1960, against the Baltimore Colts. His quarterbacks took the snap well behind the line to buy time against Baltimore's pass rush, and the underdog 49ers won 30-22. Hickey kept using it into 1961, until the Chicago Bears beat it 31-0 that October by moving linebacker Bill George up to the line of scrimmage. Hickey shelved it soon after.

Tom Landry's Dallas Cowboys brought it back in 1975 with quarterback Roger Staubach. Dallas used it mostly on third downs and in the two-minute drill, when it was likely to pass anyway. The Cowboys reached Super Bowl X that season, and the Shotgun became one of their trademarks.

Other teams came around slowly over the following decades. In 2007 the New England Patriots ran about half of their snaps from the Shotgun, roughly twice the rate of the rest of the league. Today it is the league's base formation.

Coaches Known for It

Red Hickey. As San Francisco's head coach he unveiled the Shotgun in a 30-22 upset of the Colts in November 1960. He dropped it after the Bears shut it down in a 31-0 game in 1961.

Tom Landry. He revived the formation for the 1975 Dallas Cowboys, mostly for third downs and two-minute drives. Dallas reached Super Bowl X that season with Roger Staubach taking snaps from the Shotgun.

Bill Belichick. His 2007 New England Patriots ran about half of their snaps from the Shotgun, roughly twice the rate of the rest of the league. That offense scored 589 points, a single-season record until the 2013 Denver Broncos scored 606.

How Often It's Used

Share of the plays cover0 could label each season.

Season	Share
2016	52.7%
2017	50.7%
2018	53.9%
2019	53.2%
2020	54.8%
2021	54.8%
2022	56.4%
2023	67.4%
2024	59.8%
2025	61.5%

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

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%Pistol FormationA short Shotgun: the quarterback stands about four yards behind the center with the running back directly behind him instead of beside him.5.2%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.