The Sean Mannion Offense: Part 3: Play Action
PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA - JANUARY 11: Jalen Hurts #1 of the Philadelphia Eagles hands the ball off to Saquon Barkley #26 during the first quarter against the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC Wild Card Playoff game at Lincoln Financial Field on January 11, 2026 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Full disclaimer: I have no idea what the Eagles' offense will look like in 2026. Sean Mannion has never called plays over a full NFL season. Josh Grizzard has only done it once. There is no finished product to evaluate yet, no Eagles film to diagnose, no certainty to lean on. However, we can formulate some ideas based on past evidence. There is Mannion's background inside the Sean McVay-Matt LaFleur-Kyle Shanahan ecosystem. There is his one public play-calling sample at the Shrine Bowl, where he installed an offense under time constraints. There are also years of league-wide data on how this coaching tree builds offenses.
The goal of this short series is not to guess which plays the Eagles will call, but to understand how this staff is likely to think about offense and what we might see from the Eagles next year. With Free Agency and the Draft just around the corner, I figured it's a good time to get into it, as there may be some key takeaways regarding the type of player the Eagles may target.
PREVIOUSLY IN THIS SERIES:Part 1, Basic Principles | Part 2, The Run Game
Part 3: Play ActionBefore reading this one, make sure you check out Part 2 first!
I said last time that the run game is where everything begins. However, that doesn't mean running the football is more important than passing. This offense often starts with the run because it creates easy opportunities for the pass game. Too often, discussions of play action around the league reduce it to a statistical relationship, as though rushing efficiency must first reach a certain success rate before play action works. There is some truth to this, of course. But, play action is effective not just because the run succeeds; it is effective because the defense has been conditioned to expect the run from certain looks and formations. That's the beauty of this offensive scheme when it is at its very best. Sean McVay and Kyle Shanahan are outstanding at making everything look the same pre-snap. I hope the Eagles and Sean Mannion take a lot of lessons from those systems. I can only assume that is why he was hired!
Green Bay's game against Washington is an excellent example to study for play-action. This play was all over the Rams' film last year, too. Here, a receiver motions inward toward an H-back alignment and looks like a C-gap blocker, a small detail that confuses the defense, as they expect a run out of this look. The Eagles actually tried this last year, but it rarely worked because they never actually used a TE or WR effectively as a C-gap blocker. By the time the tight end releases into the vacated space, the completion looks simple. The simplicity is the product of the run game, rather than spontaneous design. This is all about sequencing. Studying this play in isolation doesn't really mean a lot, but when you study the overall offense, it becomes much more impressive.
5) Really clever play-action design, again from under center. The WR motions into an H-back look, fakes a C-gap block, and removes the flat defender so the TE can sneak out for 15 yards. They block Duo to really sell the run. They target the flat a lot! pic.twitter.com/hdG96BM49F
- Jonny Page (@JonnyPage9) February 10, 2026
This is something all the great modern offenses are doing around the league. It helps if you are under center and have receivers/tight ends who can actually block the C-gap, or the defense won't really respect you. The Eagles need to rebuild the receiver and tight end room to fit this offense.
TE C-Gap Insert Corner off Lead Zone Action pic.twitter.com/NZUqeLflI6
- Coach Dan Casey (@CoachDanCasey) February 9, 2026
Near the goal line, where the field compresses, the Packers' offense went back to basics, and you could see the value of play-action easily. From under center and heavy personnel, the offense sells outside zone, and the slant behind them is wide open. What a perfect play to showcase what this offense can do for a quarterback.
7) Easy money. Under-center play-action in 12 personnel results in a quick slant TD in the red zone. Get used to seeing under center play-action a lot more! pic.twitter.com/nsYL93bErT
- Jonny Page (@JonnyPage9) February 10, 2026
This coaching tree is a timely reminder that the simplest answers often become the most effective. Nothing beats effective sequencing!
What makes the Washington game awesome to watch, however, is not the success of any single call but the continuity linking them together. I'll get into my favorite sequencing in the final article, but I had to include this one. Again, it shows the value of under center play-action.
8) Another under-center play-action shot from 12 with the same core idea as the deep shot earlier, but this time it becomes a wide-open corner route. This is fantastic sequencing. The play looks similar to the earlier shot, but this time the corner route is wide open. pic.twitter.com/AMIbUzNXnl
- Jonny Page (@JonnyPage9) February 10, 2026
Here, the tight end fakes to block and then releases into the flat. The Packers' offense did such a good job getting receivers/tight ends open in the flat, especially off play-action. This is the easy stuff the Eagles' offense just lacked.
10) Shotgun play-action where the TE blocks first, then leaks late into the flat. It's amazing how often they get tight ends open in the flat. This is an incredible run sell before the release, too. pic.twitter.com/c47IJ17Vpb
- Jonny Page (@JonnyPage9) February 10, 2026
This is one of my favorite reps I've seen from the Packers' offense, combining play-action and sequencing. One benefit of running condensed splits is that it is easier to run crossing routes. The Packers' offense runs a lot of crossing routes, so they called this shot as a tendency breaker. Combined with play-action, it is perfect. Both receivers initially sell crossing routes the defense expects to see, reinforcing a pattern established earlier in the game, before snapping outward into deep corners that generate a significant explosive gain. This shows an offense that understands its own tendencies and uses them to its advantage. There's a reason most of the top teams run from under center about 70% of the time. They want the defense to expect it!
11) Under-center play-action from 12 personnel where both WRs fake crossing routes before snapping to deep corners for a big gain in the playoffs. This is a total tendency breaker, as the Packers love running cross routes. This is how explosive plays are created without relying... pic.twitter.com/Rg3YQvrA9J
- Jonny Page (@JonnyPage9) February 10, 2026
Remember the whole focus about outside zone in the last article? The whole purpose of this offense is to get the defense flowing to one side of the field, beacause then you have them exactly where you want them...
View LinkThere's nothing fancy about it. But these plays are all over the modern NFL. It's about making life easy for your quarterback and not playing into the defense's hands. I could write an article about this one play. You see it all around the league.
We are nearly at the end, and I haven't posted many boot-action shots! Sean Mannion ran this concept multiple times at the Shrine Bowl, and I absolutely expect to see it again next year. You split the field in half, define the reads for the quarterback, and stress a defense both ways horizontally. What's not to like?
19) I bet you can't believe it's taken me this long to post this! Classic boot off under-center outside zone for a nice gain. We saw this boot with flood concept a lot in the Shrine Bowl! If Mannion's influence is real, you'll see this exact picture a lot in 2026. pic.twitter.com/d4iCTH4vPe
- Jonny Page (@JonnyPage9) February 10, 2026
The Malik Willis film vs. Baltimore only confirms that the principles of this offense remain the same, no matter the quarterback. Play-action should help everyone. Here, under-center play action stresses the boundary with a deep comeback while also presenting intermediate and checkdown options across the field, ensuring the quarterback is never isolated on a single read. He has multiple options!
24) Under-center play-action with a deep comeback, stressing the intermediate zone. This offense does a great job stretching you horizontally and vertically. pic.twitter.com/BYADsRYmDw
- Jonny Page (@JonnyPage9) February 10, 2026
The big lesson I hope this offense learns is that play-action isn't just successful because of the play fake. It is successful when it all looks the same pre-snap. That's the beauty of it! George Kittle did a brilliant job explaining this a few years ago, when he spoke to the Ringer.
Kyle has this thing where if wants to set up a play action or a bootleg type of pass, he'll just call a play - a run play that he knows is not gonna work," Kittle told Clark and Steven Ruiz. I can't remember what game this was. It might've been the Vikings one year or Seattle this year, where we're running a run play multiple times and it's averaging like, two yards a carry, two yards a carry, two yards a carry. And then we threw a play action behind it and Deebo goes for 75 yards against Seattle.
And the whole thing is set up because it's the exact same motion, it's the exact same alignment, it looks the exact same. Then all the sudden Deebo's running this shallow. I'm faking like I'm the defensive end. Linebacker thinks its power, he steps up four yards and Deebo's uncovered in the flat running for a touchdown."
This is the modern NFL! Run the ball and use play-action. You can't just drop back 30+ times a game in the modern NFL and expect to just win. Defenses are too smart. There's a reason a lot of the best offenses use a lot of play-action. The Eagles need to join these top offenses and tie the run game to the pass game. Mannion has had a lot of experience in offenses that do this, so I hope he can bring this approach to Philly.
Thank you for reading! I'd love to hear your thoughts, so feel free to comment below and ask any questions. If you enjoyed this piece, you can find more of my work and podcasthere.If you would like to support me further, please check out myPatreon here!