Success on 3rd downs soars
FRISCO — Kellen Moore laughed Monday afternoon while lowering his head and shutting his eyes.
“Jeez,” he said under his breath. “Don't remind me.”
As the Cowboys offensive coordinator well knows, his offense experienced a slow start on third down this year. Losing Dak Prescott for five games to a right thumb fracture did not help matters. When the quarterback returned in Week 7 against the Detroit Lions, he rejoined an offense converting only 32.1 percent of its attempts.
No NFL offense has been better on third down lately than the Cowboys, and it isn't close. They have converted 61.1 percent of attempts since Week 8 with the Philadelphia Eagles a distant second at 52.6 percent. Dallas looks to continue the success Sunday evening against the Indianapolis Colts.
The 61.1 percent conversion rate is the most efficient four-game set that any NFL offense has achieved at any point this season.
The Cowboys ranked 29th of 32 teams in thirddown efficiency entering that Lions game.
Prescott's return was not a magic bullet, at least not right away. They went 3-for-9 on third down during the 24-6 win over Detroit, dropping their season ranking to 30th at 32.2 percent. Today, Dallas today sits eighth in the NFL with a 43.3 percent thirddown rate.
“Our guys have found a really good rhythm,” Moore said. “We've certainly put ourselves in much better third downs. Our big thing is, the statistics show you, third-and-4 or less, that goes to the offense.
And once you get above that, the league trend obviously favors the defense. The more times you're down there in those manageable situations, the better success you're going to have.
“Certainly, we've been able to do that. We have a nice balance. … Guys have obviously made some tremendous plays. I think the
run game certainly is nice part of it as well.”
Indeed, more thirdand-shorts are part of the success.
Of the 87 third-down attempts from Weeks 1 to 7, 39.1 percent were within 4 yards of the first-down marker. Of the Cowboys' 54 third-down attempts since Week 8, 48.1 percent fell within that range.
The team also has executed with greater success from varied distances. Since Week 8, the Dallas pass game has converted 10 of 19 tries (52.6 percent) on third-and-7 or longer. The league average in that situation is 24.6 percent
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this year. Likewise, since Week 8, the run game has converted 15 of 16 attempts (93.8 percent) on thirdand-4 or shorter, including a perfect 14-of-14 between 1 and 3 yards. The league average this season is 66.8 percent success within 4 yards.
The Cowboys converted 81.8 percent of third downs in a Week 8 win over the Chicago Bears, 33.3 percent in a Week 10 loss to the Green Bay Packers, 70.6 percent in a Week 11 win over the Minnesota Vikings, and 63.6 percent in last Thursday's win over the New York Giants.