The Los Angeles Rams have quietly reinvented themselves on offense this season-and it’s not just about Matthew Stafford slinging darts or Puka Nacua breaking out. It’s about a shift in philosophy that’s turning heads across the league: the Rams have become the NFL’s most frequent users of 13 personnel-that’s one running back and three tight ends on the field at once.
For context, Sean McVay practically avoided 13 personnel during his first nine seasons in L.A., dialing it up just 84 times total. But this year?
The Rams have already run 170 plays out of 13 personnel-21.4% of their offensive snaps. That’s not just a trend; that’s a full-blown identity shift.
For comparison, the league average is just 5.25%.
Last week’s win over the Arizona Cardinals took things to another level. The Rams used 13 personnel on a whopping 60% of their plays.
That’s not a typo. So what’s behind this sudden embrace of the tight-end-heavy look?
Part of it is strategic evolution. The Rams’ offense has been trending this way in recent weeks, and it’s helped ease the burden on their dynamic receiving corps.
But against Arizona, game flow and defensive alignment played a big role. With L.A. jumping out to an early lead, they leaned on the run game to chew clock-and the Cardinals gave them every reason to do so.
“They came out in a lighter grouping, and they basically dared you to run it,” McVay said Tuesday. “To the guys’ credit-Coleman Shelton, the O-line, Matthew Stafford, the tight ends, the receivers-they recognized it and got us efficient runs early.”
Efficient might be underselling it. The Rams racked up 249 rushing yards, averaged 6.9 yards per carry, and punched in three rushing touchdowns. That’s domination on the ground, and it came from a personnel grouping that used to be an afterthought in McVay’s playbook.
And it’s not just about volume-it’s about effectiveness. According to SumerSports, the Rams rank eighth in passing efficiency (0.34 EPA/pass) and fourth in rushing efficiency (0.13 EPA/rush) when operating out of 13 personnel. That’s elite-level production from a formation that most teams barely touch.
But there’s more to this than just running the ball. As Lions head coach Dan Campbell pointed out, 13 personnel can tip the defense’s hand.
“There’s predictability in 13,” Campbell said. “Normally, you know what you’re going to get.
Sometimes in 12, you don’t know if you’re going to get nickel or base. But with 13, you probably know the fronts and coverages.
That helps. And they’ve got tight ends who can do a little bit of everything.”
Translation: by going heavy, the Rams often force defenses into base personnel-four defensive backs, three linebackers-which gives the offense a clearer picture of what they’re facing. That’s a huge advantage for a quarterback like Stafford, who thrives on pre-snap reads and quick decisions.
But the Lions aren’t like most defenses.
Detroit plays more base defense than anyone in the league, regardless of what offenses throw at them. According to Sharp Football, the Lions use subpackages like nickel at the lowest rate in the NFL (35%). They believe in their linebackers and trust them to handle both the run and pass without needing to bring in extra defensive backs.
So when the Rams roll out 13 personnel on Sunday, don’t expect Detroit to blink.
“When I hear a lot of 13 personnel, I think they’re trying to dictate stuff,” said Lions linebacker Jack Campbell. “But you only have a limited menu against 13.
You’re going to get base defense out there. We already play that most of the time.
So it’s not really going to matter.”
That’s confidence-and it’s earned. The Lions have built a defense that thrives in physical matchups.
But Campbell also acknowledged that the Rams’ version of 13 personnel isn’t your typical smashmouth setup. With tight ends who can move, catch, and block, McVay can dress up 13 to look like 12 or even 11 personnel.
That versatility makes it harder to key in on tendencies.
“It’s going to be a challenge,” Campbell added, “but it’s not really going to affect us terribly. We’re used to playing with three linebackers.
We’ve got calls for that. The guys out there are versatile.”
Still, McVay knows what he’s up against. Detroit’s comfort in base might lead the Rams to shift back toward their bread-and-butter: 11 personnel-three wide receivers, one tight end, one back. That’s been the hallmark of McVay’s offenses for years, and despite the recent uptick in 13, the Rams still run 11 personnel 66.8% of the time-eighth-most in the league.
But here’s the catch: they haven’t been nearly as effective running out of 11. Their rushing efficiency from those looks sits at 0.03 EPA/rush, which ranks 17th. That’s a steep drop-off from what they’re getting out of 13.
So Sunday’s matchup could come down to a chess match in the trenches. If the Lions can hold up in base and bottle up the Rams’ run game-especially when L.A. goes heavy-they could force McVay back into 11 personnel, where the ground game hasn’t been as consistent. And if Detroit can dictate those terms on the road, they might just have the formula to pull off a statement win.
Bottom line: this isn’t just another game. It’s a clash of philosophies-one team leaning into a physical, tight-end-heavy identity, the other built to stop it without flinching. Something’s got to give.