By Ross Jackson
One of the New Orleans Saints’ biggest struggles last year came when trying to convert third downs, particularly on third and long situations.
New Orleans finished No. 28 overall in third down conversion percentage, picking up a first down on just 35.2% of tries.
The team managed to convert 53.5% of its third-and-five or shorter chances, just shy of the NFL average of 54.5%, per TruMedia. While they finished the season No. 18 in those situations, their success plummeted to just 19.7% (No. 30 in the league) when needing six or more yards to pick up a fresh set of downs. That fell well below the NFL’s average of 27.1%.
In each of these accounts, new head coach Kellen Moore and his previous team, the Philadelphia Eagles, vastly outperformed both the Saints and surpassed each NFL average.
- Overall third down conversion rate: 40.3% (No. 11)
- Third-and-short: 55.2% (No. 13)
- Third-and-long: 30.8% (T-No. 8)
It’s likely more correlation than causation, but it is worth noting that eight of the top 10 teams in third-and-long conversion percentage were all playoff teams in 2024. The only two exceptions were the Cincinnati Bengals and San Francisco 49ers. Only San Francisco finished without a winning record.
One of the biggest culprits to the Saints’ struggles is that the team averaged just 4.6 yards per play in these “and-long” circumstances. The team also only completed 52.7% of its passes while Moore’s Eagles enjoyed a 64.6% completion rate despite pressure resulting in 16 sacks for Philadelphia and only six for the Saints.
The Eagles also ran the ball effectively in these scenarios as well. Moore’s run game gained 8.6 yards per designed run when facing third-and-long. New Orleans wasn’t far off from the lowest mark with 6.1 per carry. However, only 13 of the Saints’ 118 third-and-longs were in fact third-and-six. The team faced 105 conversion attempts longer than that on the pivotal down.
Simply put, the Saints didn’t do a lot efficiently in these very important situations. Perhaps Moore’s approach can translate in helping New Orleans extend more drives, even when facing less than advantageous situations.
Having a scrambling or more mobile quarterback with either Spencer Rattler or Tyler Shough under center in 2025 could be a real difference-maker here for the Saints as well. While New Orleans only saw its quarterback take off three times on third-and-long, Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts scrambled on 13 such occasions, second-most in the league. Philadelphia converted on a league-best eight of those rushes (61.5%) while the Saints converted none.
