After a slow start to the season, things are back up and running for the Bengals offense. Since Week 4 they rank second in EPA per play, behind only the Chiefs. Over those four games, Joe Burrow completed a league-high 73.1% of his passes, with nine touchdowns and just one interception. His passer rating of 117.7 in that period also leads the league.
There have been a number of tweaks and changes made to this offense in light of the changing ways that defenses are choosing to play them, but for this article I wanted to focus on a staple of the Bengals offense under Joe Burrow – the Doubles concept. This has been a foundational part of Zac Taylor’s offense in Cincinnati, and it played a key role in their dominant victory over the Falcons in Week 7.
So what is Doubles? And how exactly do the Bengals use it? Let’s dive into the film and find out.
What is Doubles?
Doubles isn’t a new concept – far from it. It dates back to the days of Don Coryell, who helmed the high-flying “Air Coryell” offense with the San Diego Chargers in the 1970s and 80s. That offense, led by Hall of Fame quarterback Dan Fouts, set multiple passing records and led the NFL in total offense for six consecutive seasons.
In Coryell’s system, the play is actually referred to as 989. The numbers simply describe the routes that each player runs – the X receiver runs a fade (9) route. The slot receiver runs a post (8), whilst the Z receiver runs a fade (9). The play, like most of Coryell’s offense, is built to attack defenses deep and beat them with big plays downfield.
In essence, the Doubles concept can be boiled down to two main components. The first is that the two outside receivers run identical routes – hence “Doubles”. The second is that the slot receiver runs a “middle read” route. The middle read is a post route against two-high shells that converts into a dig against single-high shells.
How does Doubles work?
The premise behind Doubles is simple in that it is built to attack the weakness of both single-high and two-high shells. The two fade routes on the outside are perfect at beating single-high coverages. With two vertical routes to occupy the middle field safety, he is forced to pick one to help with. This leaves the receiver on the other side with a true one-on-one matchup. When your receivers are Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins, that’s a pretty great spot to be in.
If defenses try and counter the Doubles by running two-high shells then the focus shifts to the post route in the middle of the field. The post route attacks the soft spot between the two deep zones. To increase their chances of success, a lot of offenses will also give the slot receiver options with their route, with the ability to flatten it into a dig route vs or a stop against single-high looks.
How the Bengals used it against the Falcons
Tyler Boyd’s touchdown vs Cover 2
Doubles was the source of a number of big plays for the Bengals in Week 7. We first saw it come into play on the Bengals’ first drive of the game. On this play the Bengals align in a trips formation. Ja’Marr Chase is the isolated receiver on the boundary side, with Tyler Boyd in the slot and Tee Higgins as the Z receiver to the field side.
The Falcons show a two-high shell pre-snap. Joe Burrow then reads for any safety rotation as soon as he has snapped the ball. There isn’t any in this case – the Falcons are playing a variation of Tampa 2, with a little tweak to lock up Ja’Marr Chase in man coverage to the bottom of the screen. As soon as he has completed the play fake, Burrow knows that Boyd will be open up the seam.
Once he reaches the top of his drop, he takes a split second to read the field side safety, who is put in conflict by the two vertical routes from Boyd and Higgins. Burrow proceeds to let rip, delivering a perfect strike to Boyd, who finds himself in acres of space for the touchdown.
The 585 variation
One of the best things about the Doubles concept is that it lends itself to subtle variation. This ensures that offenses can keep opponents guessing and react to the various pre-snap looks they are faced with. On this play the Bengals line up once again in their trips formation. The Falcons look to be in some kind of quarters coverage on this play. With the exception of Cornell Armstrong (#22) who is in press coverage on Ja’Marr Chase, the other defensive backs are playing with huge cushions. They know that the Bengals can beat them deep and are using the cushion to limit plays downfield.
The Bengals play them at their own game here. Once the play starts, it looks like another example of 989. The two outside receivers explode off the line of scrimmage and look to threaten the defense vertically. Notice how cornerback Darren Hall (#34) at the top of the screen quickly opens his hips, anticipating Higgins to run a fade route downfield. The Bengals anticipated this though. You can see at the start of the clip that Burrow is making an audible at the line of scrimmage. The Bengals convert those fade (9) routes into comebacks (5), thus turning it into the 585 concept. Burrow delivers another perfectly timed and placed ball which Higgins hauls in for the first down.
The perfect hole shot
This play might be the best example of how the Bengals can shred opponents with the Doubles concept. It actually came immediately after the Bengals ran the 585 variation on the clip above. You will notice that the Falcons are showing a similar defensive shell, though this time both cornerbacks are playing in press coverage. What happens next is pure wizardry from Joe Burrow.
Burrow knows that one of the best ways to attack this two-high quarters shell is what is known as the “hole shot”. The hole shot is a pass that attacks the space behind the boundary cornerback.
You will notice that as soon as he snaps the ball, he briefly stares down the boundary side safety. This causes the safety to freeze momentarily, holding him just long enough for Chase to beat his man off the line. Burrow then feathers the ball perfectly into a spot where only his receiver can get it. Chase proceeds to make an outstanding grab over his shoulder and gets in for the touchdown.
The Bengals have been having plenty of success with the Doubles concept yet again this season. Even though Ja’Marr Chase’s absence will impact this offense moving forward, I fully expect to see plenty more of this play as the season goes on.
