How often do NFL teams pass instead of run?
Passes were 56.2% of NFL passing and running plays in the 2025 regular season, down from a peak of 59.3% in 2016 and a little below 1999's 57.0%. Sacks count as passes and quarterback scrambles as runs. The chart starts in 1999, the first season in nflverse's data.
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Source and date
- License
- CC BY 4.0 (nflverse)
- Data as of
- Published
The data
| Season | Passes, as a share of passes and runs (%) |
|---|---|
| 1999 | 57 |
| 2000 | 56.2 |
| 2001 | 56 |
| 2002 | 56.7 |
| 2003 | 54.8 |
| 2004 | 54.9 |
| 2005 | 55.1 |
| 2006 | 54.8 |
| 2007 | 56.5 |
| 2008 | 55.5 |
| 2009 | 56.3 |
| 2010 | 56.9 |
| 2011 | 57.1 |
| 2012 | 57.7 |
| 2013 | 58.3 |
| 2014 | 58.2 |
| 2015 | 59.1 |
| 2016 | 59.3 |
| 2017 | 57.6 |
| 2018 | 58.8 |
| 2019 | 58.8 |
| 2020 | 58.1 |
| 2021 | 57.9 |
| 2022 | 56.7 |
| 2023 | 57.5 |
| 2024 | 56.6 |
| 2025 | 56.2 |