Cincinnati Bengals play-action rate, 2026
17.7%
29th of 32 in the NFL
- 23.8%
- On 113 dropbacks through Week 3
How often do the Bengals use play-action?
The Bengals have faked a handoff on 17.7% of their dropbacks through Week 3, 29th in the NFL.
Week by week
| Through | PA% | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | 10.8% | 32nd |
| Week 2 | 13.7% | 30th |
| Week 3 | 17.7% | 29th |
Last season
Up from 16.0% in 2025, which ranked 31st of 32.
From the Bengals weekly
Eleven oh four left in the fourth quarter, Cincinnati up twenty-seven to twenty-four, and Pittsburgh punting on fourth and ten from its own thirty-six. By win probability — the model's read on each team's chance of winning at that moment — the Bengals were at sixty-seven percent, the highest they reached all afternoon. The punt went fifty-one yards, Williams muffed the catch at the Cincinnati sixteen, and Pittsburgh's Ben Skowronek recovered at the fourteen. Twenty-six points of win probability on one snap, and by expected points added — what a snap was worth given the down, the distance and the field position, measured against what that situation was already worth — plus five point five for the Steelers. Pittsburgh gained minus four yards from there and still tied it with a field goal. Then it took the lead with another, and with fifty-three seconds left, Cincinnati down three and at the Pittsburgh thirty-eight, Joe Burrow was sacked by Harmon, fumbled, and Pittsburgh recovered. The Bengals went from forty-five percent to three. They lost thirty to twenty-seven in Pittsburgh on a day their offense produced more expected points than Pittsburgh's did.
Read the Week 3 note →Which offenses use the most play-action in 2026?
Kansas City Chiefs (37.6%), Detroit Lions (34.7%), then Seattle Seahawks (34.7%) lead the league. All 32 teams on the Play-Action Rate board.
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