Playbooks

Team Playbook

NFL Live Bengals Offense

TeamOffense

View the Cincinnati Bengals Team Hub

5Formations

42Sets

606Plays

Overview

The NFL Live Bengals Offense is functionally the same playbook as its sibling cut, Bengals Offense. The two share all 606 of this playbook's plays and differ by zero sets, so choosing between them comes down to which label appears on your menu, not to any schematic difference. Everything below applies equally to both versions.

This is a Shotgun offense first and last. 517 of its 606 plays (85%) live in Shotgun across 33 sets, which gives you an unusually deep menu of spread looks for a book that is already larger than 73% of the game's 64 offensive team playbooks. The concept tags show where that depth goes: Drag, Crosser, Flat, Post, Spot, Hitch and Slant concepts, Cover 3 Beater tags, Motion, and Block and Release looks. The result is a quick game and intermediate passing attack that can show the same concept out of many different Shotgun alignments. Singleback adds 63 plays across 5 sets for Play Action and a changeup run game. Goal Line Offense (12 plays, 1 set), I Form (11 plays, 1 set) and Hail Mary (3 plays, 2 sets) are thin situational packages.

The game plan it supports is a pass-first, rhythm-based attack that wins on early downs with timing throws and uses motion and alignment variety to diagnose coverage before the snap. You can live in Shotgun for most of a drive, change personnel across 11, 10 and 20 groupings to stress the defense's sub packages, and then drop into Singleback when you need play action or a physical look. Short-yardage and red zone snaps are handled by the small Goal Line and I Form sets, with calls like FB Dive and 0 1 Trap for gap runs.

Scheme Fit

The NFL Live Bengals Offense wants an accurate, quick-release quarterback with strong short and medium accuracy who can process coverage from the gun, plus route-running wide receivers who win at the break on Slants, Hitches and Crossers. A back who can pass block and catch out of the backfield makes the Block and Release and Flat tags far more dangerous, while a couple of solid blocking tight ends are enough to handle the limited Singleback, I Form and Goal Line packages. It suits players who like to spread the defense, read coverage before the snap with motion, and move the ball with rhythm passing rather than grinding out drives under center.

Example Plays from this Playbook

Find plays by concept, not by formation

Search every playbook by tag and personnel grouping, not just NFL Live Bengals Offense.

Open the playbook database

Strengths

Shotgun depth is elite: 517 plays across 33 sets means you can run the same Drag, Slant or Spot concept from many different Shotgun alignments, which makes your tendencies much harder to scout than in a book with only a handful of gun sets.
Personnel variety inside the spread lets you attack sub packages, with 10 personnel four wide looks, 11 personnel and 20 personnel two back gun looks available, so you can force the defense into nickel or dime and then punish mismatches with hot routes.
The concept mix is built for quick answers: Slant, Hitch, Flat and Drag tags give you man beaters and quick zone beaters, and dedicated Cover 3 Beater calls give you a scripted answer to the most common base zone in the game.
Motion and Block and Release tags give you pre-snap tools: motioning a receiver helps identify man versus zone, and Block and Release routes let you hold a back or tight end in protection against the blitz before they leak into the flat.
Singleback's 63 plays across 5 sets give you a real Play Action changeup, so you are not stuck in the gun when you want to hold linebackers with a run fake and hit a Post or Crosser behind them.

Weaknesses

Heavy Shotgun concentration is a tell: with 85% of the book in the gun, an opponent can sit in nickel or dime with lighter boxes and dare you to run, knowing your under center menu is limited.
The under center power run game is thin, with only 11 I Form plays in 1 set and 12 Goal Line Offense plays in 1 set, so short-yardage defenders can key on a small handful of looks when you line up heavy.
Heavy personnel groupings like 23 and 13 exist but have very little formation variety behind them, so bringing them on the field telegraphs a run or a play action shot to a defense that tracks your subs.
The Hail Mary package is only 3 plays across 2 sets, which gives you minimal variety in end of half and end of game desperation situations.
Because the book leans on quick game concepts, a defense that plays press man with a user-controlled safety over the middle can crowd Slants and Drags and force you to hold the ball longer than the offense is designed for.

Usage Tips

Build your base audible package around three or four Shotgun sets from the 33 available, pairing a Slant or Hitch man beater, a Cover 3 Beater, a Drag or Crosser zone beater, and one run, so you can check out of any look on 1st and 10 without leaving the formation.

On 2nd and medium, use Motion out of Shotgun 11 or 10 personnel to read coverage: if the defender travels with the motion, audible to a Slant or Crosser man beater, and if the defense rotates, work the Flat and Spot concepts underneath.

On 2nd and short or 1st down after a big gain, drop into Singleback and call Play Action to take a shot on a Post or Crosser while the defense is expecting your gun passing tendencies.

Save the I Form and Goal Line Offense sets for 3rd and 1, 4th and 1 and inside the 5, calling FB Dive or 0 1 Trap style gap runs, and mix in a Play Action look from the same set so the opponent cannot sell out on the run every time.

On 3rd and long, stay in Shotgun 10 personnel and use Block and Release to keep the back in protection against a nano blitz before he releases, giving you a checkdown if the deep Post or Spot concept is covered.