Since he became the Los Angeles Rams’ head coach in 2017, Sean McVay has loved 11 personnel – one running back, one tight end, and three receivers – more than anybody in the NFL. McVay’s Rams led the league in 11 personnel in the 2017, 2018, 2021, 2022 and 2023 seasons, and through Week 5 of the 2025 season, no team had more 11 personnel snaps than the Rams’ 248.
Then, with 10:02 left in the first half of the Rams’ 17-3 Week 6 win over the Baltimore Ravens, receiver Puka Nacua suffered a sprained left ankle, and everything changed. Nacua has become one of the league’s best receivers, and with him out for any length of time, things were going to be different.
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For McVay, being different meant using a personnel package he’d barely ever used before – 13 personnel, with 1 back, three tight ends, and one receiver. The Rams hadn’t utilized 13 personnel on a single snap this season until about a quarter after Nacua’s injury. In the second half, they had eight plays in 13, and all were running plays.
The first time the Rams ran out of 13 personnel, running back Kyren Williams scored a rushing touchdown from three yards out.
With a week to figure out what to do without Nacua, and a trip to London’s Wembley Stadium to face the Jacksonville Jaguars in the meantime, McVay drastically stretched his definitions of 13 personnel, especially in the passing game. In Los Angeles’ 35-7 blowout of the Jags, the Rams ran 13 on 29 of their 72 offensive plays, a startling 40.2% of their snaps. To put that in perspective, the Pittsburgh Steelers lead the league with a 15.9% 13 personnel rate for the entire season – 52 plays out of 327. Teams just don’t run 13 this much in a single game, and you would expect it the least from an 11 personnel evangelist like Sean McVay.
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Quarterback Matthew Stafford, who overall completed 21 of 33 passes for 182 yards and five touchdowns, completed six of nine passes in 13 personnel for 59 yards and three of those touchdowns – one to rookie seventh-round pick Konata Mumpfield, one to veteran Davante Adams (who caught three touchdown passes on the day), and one to second-round rookie tight end Terrance Ferguson.
All four of Los Angeles’ tight ends – Ferguson, Tyler Higbee, Colby Parkinson, and Davis Allen – had catches in this game.
“When we’ve got four legitimate NFL tight ends and [they ’re] all up and active, let’s take advantage of that,” McVay said postgame. “Let’s be able to do some different things where we’re not just in 11 personnel all the time. We have got guys that are functional, on the line of scrimmage, they can make plays in the pass game, so I think we’re just continuing to learn. As the season goes, you might have an idea of what you think you’re going to be, but it’s about utilizing all the personnel that you do have, and I think this is an exciting thing for us to be able to build on. We’ll have some time to be able to look at it.
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“Obviously, it’s always predicated on the opponent, but it always starts with us and I want to make sure that I do a better job. And then, really us collectively taking advantage of the depth that we have at some of these different positions, so they can make you a little more difficult to defend.”
Ferguson’s 31-yard touchdown with 11:19 left in the game was an excellent example of how the Rams made 13 personnel work so well. This was fourth-and-1, and the Jaguars were expecting a run here. They lined four defensive linemen up between the tackles, and added a Cover-0 blitz to that. Pre-snap, Higbee motioned from right to left, which put all three tight ends – Higbee, Allen, and Ferguson – on the same side. While Higbee and Allen stayed in to block, Ferguson ran the vertical seam route to the end zone, and because the coverage wasn’t there to cap it, and safety Andrew Wingard was a step late to follow, it was pitch-and-catch for Stafford and Ferguson.
The 5-2 Rams now have a bye, and they next face the New Orleans Saints on November 2. The expectation is that Nacua will be back for that one, and even if he is, one wonders how this new adherence to the number 13 will positively affect McVay’s play-calling, and the Rams’ offense, overall.
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As the coach said himself, the more ways you have to deploy your weapons, the tougher you are to defend.
This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Oct 21, 2025, where it first appeared in the NFL section. Add Athlon Sports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.