Tag: first down

WATCH: Chiefs TE Travis Kelce gets creative, combines with Noah Gray for first down

Travis Kelce combined with fellow tight end Noah Gray to pick up a first down in the #Chiefs’ Thursday night matchup against the #Broncos.

The Kansas City Chiefs are known for their high-octane offense that has yielded Super Bowl championships in recent seasons. Usually, head coach Andy Reid is the figure getting creative to help the team remain on the cutting edge in the NFL, but against the Denver Broncos on Thursday night, All-Pro tight end Travis Kelce was the innovative presence.

On Kansas City’s first drive on offense, Kelce caught a pass from Patrick Mahomes, and instead of cutting upfield, decided that fellow tight end Noah Gray should get the ball in space. After securing the reception, the former quarterback pitched the ball back to Gray, who ran for a first down to keep the Chiefs in rhythm.

Plays like this are a great example of why Kansas City’s games are must-watch television, regardless of any celebrities who may be in attendance week to week.

Watch for the Mahomes-to-Kelce connection to continue bearing fruit in this matchup.

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Pep Hamilton says early-down situations will be key vs. Titans

After improving on third down last week, Pep Hamilton wants his players to execute on first and second down against the #Titans.

The Houston Texans are going to have to take the road less traveled to get back to the .500 mark before the 2022 season ends, and offensive coordinator Pep Hamilton laid out a simple strategy that may help the team stay out of sticky situations when his unit is on the field.

Speaking to reporters on Thursday, he fielded a question about his thoughts on how the offense handles first and second downs. In his comments, he made it clear that these downs are crucial to the team’s success on third down too, and can help set them up for success in key moments of the game.

“It’s always important to have a high level of execution on early downs to stay out of obvious passing situations as often as you can,” Hamilton said. “Depending on the opponent, we just have to find ways to incrementally move the ball and try and avoid third down altogether. Our goal is to not have a third down. But if we do, we want it to be a situation where we feel like the defense is going to ultimately have to defend the run and the pass.”

The Texans can’t afford to become one-dimensional on offense. They have a burgeoning ground game behind the strength of rookie Dameon Pierce’s fierce running style, and if quarterback Davis Mills can continue improving his abilities as a passer, the unit may become a strength of the team in the near future.

Hamilton will have to maximize all of the available talent at his disposal against the Tennessee Titans in Week 8, and won’t have much of a margin for error against such a challenging opponent. Watch for these early-down situations to play a big role in the outcome of the game, and for Houston to get their second win of the season if they can navigate them properly.

The Vikings are fantastic on early downs

The Vikings have had a lot of success on early downs

The Minnesota Vikings have some real inconsistencies on offense. Kirk Cousins has seen the entire spectrum of outcomes. He has had one really good game, one really bad and one with shades of both.

The major concern with this team is the inconsistencies within it.

Outside of a really good first half against the Packers, the Vikings offense hasn’t had one half without any major issues. One of the positives that has rang true across the first three weeks is their success on first downs. The Vikings are first in the NFL in getting a first down on first down with 34% and on early downs (first and second) with 6%.

The Vikings have implemented a more pass-heavy approach and have utilized a lot of simple play-action concepts to get easy yardage. That has translated to success. A three-week sample size with a large dud against the Eagles is a great sign moving forward for the Vikings.

Washington’s offense struggled badly on 3rd downs vs. Cowboys

An outstanding look at some of Washington’s 3rd-down woes from its loss to the Cowboys. As Ivan says, Washington must be better on earlier downs.

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“Marcia, Marcia, Marcia”.

For those old enough or you watched in subsequent decades Brady Bunch reruns, you instantly recognize the iconic line.

That’s how I often feel when hearing fans and analysts speak of third downs in the NFL. “Third-down offensive conversion rate”, third-down defensive conversion rate. Third down, third down, third down.”

During the four-game winning streak, Washington controlled the line of scrimmage, and ran the ball, and kept the clock moving, and their opponents’ offenses OFF of the field. Yes, they also saw improvement in their third-down conversion rate on offense and defense.

I hear many fans today parroting how third down is the most important down in the NFL. I do agree, you have to perform on third down to keep the chains moving on offense or force the opponents’ offensive unit off of the field.

What type of third downs did the WFT face in the first half, against Dallas?

Third-and-8 — then a delay of game sunk it to third-and-13.

Third-and-10 — resulted in the Randy Gregory tipped and intercepted pass.

Third-and-6 — an incomplete pass, saved by a roughing the passer penalty.

Third-and-7 — Heinicke to Humphries for five yards, then on fourth down was sacked, fumbled and Dallas was up 18-0.

Third-and-8 — Heinicke again sacked by Parsons (-9 yards).

Third-and-6 — Heinicke pass incomplete (Adam Humphries).

Third-and-15 — Heinicke deep pass incomplete (Cam Sims).

End of Half: Dallas 24, Washington 0

And there you have it, each time in the first half the WFT offense faced a third-down, not once was it five yards or less. NOT ONCE.

Often when I hear so much emphasis on third down ad nauseam, I rebelliously utter, “Third down? What about first down? Wouldn’t better first-down balance and execution, result in improved options for third-down conversion as well?” Or perhaps even avoid some third downs altogether?

Perhaps in Ashburn this week, an emphasis should be first-down creativity, balance, execution?