How NFL Teams Can Take Advantage of 2-Point Conversions

This June, two-point conversion talk has generated some of the hottest takes in the NFL world. Teams have had the option to go for two since 1994, but it wasn't until last year that a rule change, forcing one-point conversion attempts to be snapped from the 15-yard line, changed the game.

Due to that rule change, some thought 2015 was going to be the season we'd see the invasion of two-point conversions. It didn't unfold that way, but with the way some in the sport are cosigning two-point conversions as their preferred full-time approach to points after a touchdown, this coming year can easily be a pivotal one in the history of the NFL.

Just last week, according to Jeremy Fowler of ESPN, Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger stated he wanted the offense to go for two-point conversions after every touchdown. This then led to similar comments from both Green Bay Packers head coach Mike McCarthy and New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees.

This seems to be a popular motion in sports media world, as there have been statistics that have been bounced around for years on how two-point conversions, as a whole, yield more points as a long-term approach. The issue that always seems to come up is there hasn't really been a sample size taken of a team that runs full-time two-point conversions, which may have some influence on the data one way or another.

Bob Levey/Getty Images

That doesn't stop those numbers from being quoted, though. Last year, Yahoo Sports staff compared the early 2015 season's 33-yard one-point conversions, the distance from the back of the end zone to where the kick is being made, to a five-year average on two-point conversions. The result, though small, was that going for two-point conversions would net a team, on average, an extra point every 100 attempts.

This excitement over two-point conversions doesn't come from the idea of that one point every 100 attempts, but rather that there is a possibility of actual interesting plays following touchdowns.

Right now, even with one-point conversions starting at the 15-yard line, they're still almost automatic. It doesn't seem like fans care much about plays that involve kicks, either, as we've seen kick returns, which involve skill players in space, change drastically without much pushback from the public. Right now, one-point conversions are simply a yellow light between football and commercials for the majority of fans.

If teams like the Steelers, Packers and Saints really do act on the words they're speaking, what are fans in for in terms of the aesthetics of the game? For reference, Pittsburgh scored 45 touchdowns in total last season but only elected to go for two 11 times. It should also be noted the Steelers led the NFL by a wide margin with those 11 attempts.

The teams in second and third place, the Packers and Tennessee Titans, respectively, combined for 11 attempts together. Five teams, the Carolina Panthers, Arizona Cardinals, New York Jets, Philadelphia Eagles and New England Patriots, didn't try a two-point conversion once, even despite the rule change, and the Super Bowl champion Denver Broncos were among four teams that only went up to bat from the two-yard line once.

Put it this way: The public still doesn't have a feel of what a two-point conversion looks like, because they don't see it often enough to pattern match what's in front of their eyes and their memories. You don't have to be a scout to notice Colin Kaepernick's odd throwing motion, because everyone watching football ends up seeing 20 to 40 passes a game from various quarterbacks throughout a season. Picking out what looks off for a two-point conversion, though, is harder, because the sample sizes up to this point are so small.

To study how the NFL might look in a two-point conversion-heavy era, the best place to start is to rewatch all of the Steelers' conversion attempts. Not only were their 11 attempts the most in the league, but their success percentage was 72.7 percent, also the best in the NFL. If teams do want to go for two more often, they will more than likely try to mimic Pittsburgh. The term "copycat league" is thrown around NFL circles too much to believe otherwise.

In nine of their two-point attempts, the Steelers were in the shotgun. Both of the under-center looks Pittsburgh put on film were three tight end looks, while the rest of their two-point attempts came out of 11 personnel, with one running back and one tight end on the field.

What's also worth mentioning is they passed the ball on all 11 of their tries. Two-point conversions are an aggressive decision by today's standards, and nothing is more of a test of will than short yardage runs. Those two factors may be one reason why you'd think running the ball in from the two-yard line would be linked, but Pittsburgh has taken the compete opposite approach.

Instead of pushing for six feet, they tend to spread defenses out and attack with a quick strike pass. Slants, speed outs and triangle concepts, like the snag, are what the Steelers run most often. In many ways, what they do near the goal line isn't too different from how college offenses pass on early downs. Todd Haley's passing concepts look like they came from Noel Mazzone's playbook.

From a formation standpoint, Pittsburgh mostly was all over the place. The only time they had any sort of repeated structure to their attempts was between Week 6 and Week 8, when they ran the same formation against the Oakland Raiders, Cleveland Browns and Seattle Seahawks.

PIT used this look for 2-point conversions between Week 6-8. Motion WR down to TE/offset RB for a pseudo bunch set pic.twitter.com/KWWgsVf1IL

— Justis Mosqueda (@JuMosq) June 19, 2016

In those plays, the Steelers had a running back offset to the right side of Roethlisberger and motioned down their Z, making a sort of trips bunch look, despite only fielding one true receiver on the trips side of the field. In two of the three times they used that formation, they ran a triangle concept with the receiver crossing the other two targets, the running back flying into the flats and the tight end forcing defenders into a high-low conflict with the back before planting and turning to Roethlisberger.

Looking back to the trips side for more triangle stuff. Pittsburgh led the NFL with 11 2-pt attempts. 9 of 11 in gun pic.twitter.com/x51fubg8zx

— Justis Mosqueda (@JuMosq) June 19, 2016

Against the Oakland Raiders, Roethlisberger got it to his wide-open running back in the flats. Against the Seattle Seahawks, he caught an opening tight end.

Looking opposite of the trips side. He made some call to AB pre-snap and got the ball to him. pic.twitter.com/v8yyta5Lsr

— Justis Mosqueda (@JuMosq) June 19, 2016

The other attempt out of that formation was an odd one. The quarterback was clearly sending signals to Antonio Brown on the left side of the field, opposite of the trips side, where we had previously seen the ball go to. The pair of receivers on the left ran a fade and a speed out, pretty typical for passing in compressed space, but Brown didn't make a catch in stride; Roethlisberger threw him the ball despite the fact he didn't beat his cornerback in a traditional way.

To some extent, Big Ben lobbing the ball to an All-Pro receiver for a successful two-point conversion is why the Steelers may be better suited for these situations than the average NFL team.

At this moment, it looks like quarterbacks who have full control of their offense will likely be the ones who separate themselves from the pack in these situations. It should be no surprise Roethlisberger has succeeded in those spots, and it shouldn't surprise anyone if the likes of Tom Brady, Philip Rivers, Eli Manning or even Andrew Luck look great on two-point conversion attempts in 2016. In constricted space, the mental part of the game is going to be stressed.

The last piece of information that felt noteworthy from Pittsburgh's 2015 attempts was when they decided to go for two. For whatever reason, they only attempted one two-point conversion in the first quarter, but they posted six in the second quarter, just to have two each in the third and fourth quarters. Maybe we don't get to see a full-time two-point team in 2016, but if franchises are trying to toy with the Steelers' approach, then expect to see more action in the second quarter than the rest of the game combined.

Right now, it looks like the two-point conversion is going to change the NFL. The numbers work out in favor of teams, coaches and players want to be more aggressive and fans want better entertainment. It works out for everyone.

The blueprint to earning successful conversions has been laid out by the Steelers.

A team wants 11 personnel on the field, fielding five players who can catch, because the presence of a running back and tight end on the field means defenses can't sell themselves out on short passing routes. From there, using motion or bunch formations allows for confusion defensively, and getting a free release off the line of scrimmage from two yards out likely means two points for the offense. With a quarterback in the gun, he'll simply have to scan and strike after he makes sure the pre-snap look is right.

Hopefully, this course that the NFL is setting itself up for is actually taken. Fans would be hooked after touchdowns instead of heading to the fridge immediately after pay dirt.