The spread read option featured by the offense of the Philadelphia Eagles, the 2022 NFC Champions, is a bonafide problem for any defense unfortunate enough to oppose it. The original idea and the many concepts which dovetailed from it are not new by any means — longtime college football coach Rich Rodriguez first drew up zone read as the head coach of Glenville State in 1991. However, head coach Nick Sirianni and offensive coordinator Shane Steichen have their professional football team running the now-ubiquitous scheme arguably with better results than we’ve seen before at any level of football.

The numbers back up just how dangerous the Birds’ “college” offense has been as they have executed it against paid professionals this season. The robust sports statistics database Sports Info Solutions catalogs the team’s numerous offensive statistical achievements from the 2022 NFL season:

Eagles running back Miles Sanders led the NFL in carries (88) and rushing touchdowns (4) from read option, and his 401 rushing yards and 21 first downs on read options trailed only Ravens quarterback and 2019 NFL Most Valuable Player Lamar JacksonSanders led all NFL players in rushing yards gained on RPOs (368)Sanders led all NFL players in carries (220), rushing yards (1,050), rushing touchdowns (10), rushing first downs (52), and broken tackles (23) on run plays executed from shotgun formationsEagles quarterback Jalen Hurts led all NFL quarterbacks in rushing attempts (28), rushing yards (182), yards per carry (6.5), touchdowns (5), first downs (11), first down percentage (39.3%), and missed tackle percentage (32.1%) on RPOsHurts led all NFL quarterbacks in rushing touchdowns scored from shotgun (8)Hurts led the NFL in pass attempts off RPOs (69); off RPOs he was also 2nd in the NFL in passing yards (434), air passing yards (99), and passing touchdowns (4), and threw no interceptionsHurts tied Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes for the NFL lead in passing touchdowns from shotgun following play action (9), and trailed only Mahomes in passer rating on such plays among QBs who threw at least 50 play-action shotgun passes (111.5)Hurts led the league outright in attempts (130), completions (90), and passing yards (1,095) in passes from shotgun following playaction

Some of the Eagles’ most favored tactics are on display in this play from the NFC Championship, and it’s one of their bread-and-butter calls. Foremost, it’s an RPO (note the bubble action by tight end Dallas Goedert in addition to the read action by quarterback Jalen Hurts and running back Miles Sanders). Second, 2022 first-team AP All-Pro and future Pro Football Hall of Fame center Jason Kelce is leading the way as a puller. The Eagles field arguably the best offensive line in the entire National Football League, and the veteran Kelce is their most heralded among the many talented players in that group. Among all interior offensive linemen in the league, Kelce’s combination of ability, intelligence, and mobility is arguably without peer.

The detail I’d like to focus on the most for this piece is the Eagles deploying three receivers and a running back all on the same side of the ball. A running back aligned to the strong side of a trips look is referred to as a “fast four”, so named because the running back is the fourth receiver on that side. Recall that defenses identify receivers on each side of the formation by counting them from the sideline inward back to the ball. The presence of a fast four on the field can quickly wreck unprepared defenses.

The look can radically simplify the pre-snap picture for the quarterback — either the defense kicks over all its coverage to account for all four receivers and weakens its backside run defense, or it plays a more traditional formation and invites the offense to take advantage of the overload it created. The RPO action in combination with this formation can quite literally freeze the linebacker in place, as FOX Sports commentator Greg Olsen called out on a rather infamous Fred Warner play that happened during the same game.