A high third-down conversion rate has been a staple of the New Orleans Saints offense since Sean Payton became coach in 2006.
Somehow, though, third downs became problematic for the offense in 2017. Although the Saints had the No. 2 overall offense and ranked fourth in points scored in the regular season, they converted just 37.6 percent of third downs, ranking 19th in the NFL.
The statistic is stunning for a Saints team that ranked sixth or better in third-down percentage each season between 2006 and 2016. The Saints led the NFL in that category five times under Payton.