Playbooks

Team Playbook

Patriots Offense

TeamOffense

View the New England Patriots Team Hub

8Formations

45Sets

615Plays

Overview

Patriots Offense and NFL Live Patriots Offense are functionally the same playbook. They share all 615 plays and differ by zero sets, so everything written here applies equally to both, and picking one over the other comes down to which cut your game mode serves. There is no hidden formation or exclusive concept separating them.

At 615 plays across 8 formations and 45 sets, Patriots Offense is larger than 89% of the game's 64 offensive team playbooks, and most of that depth lives in Shotgun. Shotgun accounts for 386 plays (63%) spread over 24 sets, which gives you a wide range of spread and bunch looks before you ever touch another formation. Singleback adds 105 plays (17%) across 8 sets, and I Form contributes 63 plays (10%) across 4 sets. Pistol (24), Strong I (15), Goal Line Offense (13), Weak I (6) and Hail Mary (3) fill out the rest as situational packages rather than every down homes.

The concept tags point to a rhythm passing attack: Drag, Crosser, Flat, Hitch, Slant, Spot and a dedicated Cover 3 Beater tag, backed by Play Action, Motion and Block and Release designs. On the ground, samples like 26 Duo, 0 1 Trap, Counter Weak (1), Counter F and FB Dive show a gap and duo run menu that keeps the under center sets honest. The game plan it supports is a quick game offense that lives in Shotgun on passing downs, shifts into heavier personnel (up to 23 and 32 with zero receivers) to punish light boxes, and uses play action off those heavy looks to hit crossers and posts.

Scheme Fit

Patriots Offense wants an accurate, quick release quarterback with strong short and medium throwing ratings who can process Shotgun reads fast, paired with sure handed slot receivers and tight ends who win on drags, crossers and slants. Because it also carries 23, 32 and fullback sets, it rewards rosters with a blocking fullback, multiple capable tight ends and a downhill back for duo and trap. It fits a patient, possession minded player who likes spreading defenses out on passing downs and then punishing light boxes with heavy personnel, rather than someone looking for an option or deep shot heavy attack.

Example Plays from this Playbook

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Strengths

Shotgun depth is elite: 386 plays across 24 sets means you can show the same concept (Drag, Slant, Spot, Hitch) from many different alignments, so opponents cannot key on formation to guess the call.
Personnel range is unusually wide, with eight groupings from 11 and 20 all the way to 23 and 32 with zero receivers, letting you use formation subs to force defenses into base or goal line personnel and then exploit the mismatch.
A tagged Cover 3 Beater concept plus Crosser, Post and Flat designs gives you built in answers to the most common zone looks, and hot routing a slant or drag on the backside turns them into man beaters without leaving the formation.
Singleback (105 plays, 8 sets) and I Form (63 plays, 4 sets) carry enough duo, trap and counter runs (26 Duo, 0 1 Trap, Counter F, Counter Weak (1)) to build a legitimate under center run game that sets up Play Action and Block and Release shots.
Motion tagged plays let you pre snap diagnose man versus zone and create leverage for quick game throws, which pairs well with the high volume of Shotgun passing sets.

Weaknesses

Pistol is thin at 24 plays in only 2 sets, so players who want a deep Pistol run and play action menu will run out of looks quickly and become predictable.
Strong I (15 plays), Weak I (6 plays, 1 set) and Goal Line Offense (13 plays) are shallow, meaning short yardage and red zone calls from heavy formations repeat fast and a savvy opponent can sit on your favorite goal line play.
With 63% of the book in Shotgun, film tells opponents you will likely be passing whenever you line up in gun, so they can drop into zone and user a hook defender over the middle to take away drags and crossers.
The concept tags skew toward short and intermediate routes (Drag, Flat, Hitch, Slant, Spot), with Post as the main vertical tag, so against defenses that squat underneath you have fewer tagged deep shots and must manufacture them with hot routes.
Only 3 Hail Mary plays across 2 sets leaves little variety in true end of half desperation situations.

Usage Tips

Build your base audible package around your two or three favorite Shotgun sets: keep a Cover 3 Beater, a Drag or Crosser concept, a Slant or Hitch quick game call and one run so you can check against any shell on 1st and 10 or 2nd and medium.

On 2nd and short or 3rd and 1 to 3, sub into Singleback or I Form and run 26 Duo, 0 1 Trap or Counter F, then come back to Play Action from the same set on the next early down once the linebackers start triggering downhill.

On 3rd and 4 to 7, stay in Shotgun and lean on Spot, Slant and Flat concepts, hot routing a backside receiver to a drag if you read man coverage through Motion pre snap.

Inside the 5 or on 4th and inches, use Goal Line Offense or Strong I sparingly because the menus are small: rotate between a FB Dive and a Play Action look so the defense cannot just stack the A gaps.

Use the heavy 23 and 32 personnel packages late in games to bleed clock with counters and duo, and save Pistol for occasional change of pace calls rather than a primary formation.