There’s an intriguing sports trend on the horizon of the gridiron that’s turning heads. The iconic, adrenaline-pumping vertical toss—the ‘long pass’ in football terminology—appears to be vanishing from the playbook of teams in this hyper-competitive era.
The Conspiracy of the Absent Long Pass
Picture the scene: Super Bowl LVII, Marquez Valdes-Scantling, a fleet-footed wide receiver from the Kansas City Chiefs, makes a run, outmaneuvering Philadelphia Eagles’ cornerback James Bradberry deep into the playing zone. After putting nearly 30 yards of turf between him and Bradberry, Valdes-Scantling seemed ready for a momentum-shifting, game-winning long pass.
And yet, the masterful offensive move never made the touchdown list. Despite Mahomes’ renowned capability of throwing football more than half a football field away accurately, he decided against the long pass.
The Art of ‘Not Throwing’
Instead of going for the long run, Mahomes targeted Travis Kelce with calculated precision. The play ended in the hands of Kelce, a mere 22-yard reception, of which Mahomes’ pass traveled only 14 air yards. Essentially, it was the adaptive move of an experienced quarterback, recognizing that the bait was played out for the long pass and opting for safer, probability-friendly underpasses.
A point to note: this revised strategy wasn’t a one-off. Throughout Super Bowl LVII, despite four opportunities to chuck a football more than 15 air yards, Mahomes chose the safer, less showy routes. An evident contrast between his game three seasons before when twice as many long passes were attempted.
Adaptable Gameplan: The New Norm
Turns out, Mahomes’ shifted tactic is reflective of a wider trend sweep across the whole league. A ruthless adaptation in response to strong and crafty defenses that make deep throws near impossible. Mahomes himself admitted during a press meet for Super Bowl LV, that the game has evolved, with defenses acutely aware and poised to block deep, victorious throws. The new mantra: take what’s underneath and advance steadily down the field.
Football analyst Dan Orlovsky comments this trend directly relates to quarterbacks like Mahomes. The solo home-run hitters are now playing ‘singles’ – shifting their tactics in response to the changing defensive strategies.
The Groundbreaking Stats Behind The Strategy
Insightful data from the 2022 season also underpin this shift. With only 3,416 attempts made for passes at least 15 yards downfield, the figure is the lowest since 2006. The first week of 2023 season held up this trend in air yards per attempt, pass attempts of more than 20 air yards, and even total yards and touchdown passes.
Intuitively, you’d argue that such restraints should trigger lower performance metrics. Strangely, though, completion percentages have been fairly robust, with successful completions hovering at a robust 45.1%.
The norm of aggressive, explosive games centered around the biggest throwers and receivers seems to be ebbing away. Perhaps the sweeping winds of change and adaptation yield more subtlety, strategy and less of the glorious moonshot plays of the past.
So, What’s Happening Exactly?
When it comes to precise factors causing this shift, the jury’s still out. Coaches, players, and coordinators all offer disparate viewpoints. Some would argue defensive prowess has elevated; others might lean on the necessity for adaptability in matching the changing face of the sport.
As sports experts tasked with decoding these trends, one thing is clearly mirrored through the field glasses: the game of football is undergoing a transition, and it’s anyone’s guess how this move reshapes the future of the sport.
