In case you haven't heard, the NFL is on pace to shatter previous scoring records in 2020. Through eight weeks, the league has seen more points (5,996) and touchdowns (692) than any other season since the 1970 merger at this point.That would also mean we are hurtling toward historically bad scoring defense totals. But one subtle record the league's defenses are on pace for is the third-down conversion rate.Through eight weeks, NFL defenses are allowing third downs to be converted at a 42.8% rate. That's up from 39% just last season, and it will smash the record of 41.5% set in 1972, which is as far back as CBS Research and STATS LLC can track.The 1995 ' ignominious mark of allowing 49.6% of all third downs is also being outpaced by three teams. The 5-2 are blazing a path to the record books with an eye-popping 61.9% conversion allowance this season. So what gives? That's what I asked Andy Reid. His are a perfect example of what's going on in the league. The offense has improved in its third down marks (from 47.6% in 2019 to 49.5% this year) while the defense has taken a slight Keljin Blevins Jersey step back from its 37.1% rate in 2019 to 38.5% this year.Are third downs getting easier to convert, or are they getting harder to defend?"That's a chicken or the egg," Reid said this week. "That's a tough one to answer. Some weeks you feel like the defense is catching you, and the other times you feel you're ahead of the defense and rolling. Third downs are still tough to get. I know the numbers are up, but I also know it's the same feeling you have when you're calling plays. Those are important downs and they know you're going to normally throw, and those D linemen know and rushers are pretty good now. You've got to make sure you have all those bases covered. I can't answer that. I can't tell you how I feel either way, I just know the feeling I have when you're calling them. Those are tough downs." For the Titans, and , they'd probably say it's getting harder to defend third downs. Despite their combined 14-9 record, those three teams are ahead of the '95 Browns' all-time mark. After the seemingly implausible 61.9% conversion rate against for Tenne see, the young Panthers are in second at 54.2% and the AFC East-leading Bills are in third at 50.6%.The (49.5%), (48.9%) and (48.6%) are all within a percentage point of the all-time record.In Tenne see, head coach Mike Vrabel and his staff are throwing just about everything they have at figuring out why they're so bad at stopping teams on third downs. "We look at the self-scout. There's a lot of C.J. Elleby Jersey different things that are showing up. It's zone. It's man. It's different down and distances," Vrabel told reporters last week. "We need to continue to work, focus, make it an awarene s, working it today to get 11 guys to execute the call, whichever one that may be, working together with somebody. If you're in man and you have to combo and got a pa s-rush gain and you've got a place where you need to be, getting there and being able to find ways to win, winning the rush and being able to challenge or to break."We're close. I know that that doesn't mean anything, but when you're tackling them at the sticks, or you get up there on third-and-4 and got a zone and they try to run a man-beater and the receivers able to fall forward for an extra yard -- again, it's challenging it and making sure that we're sticks awarene s and we have an idea of what we're trying to do based on the formations that they're coming out in, and how we can impact the quarterback."In the case of Carolina, the Panthers are allowing 75.4% of third downs between 1 and 6 yards to be converted while hovering around the league average of 28.4% on third and long (7 or more yards). But Tenne see has allowed 23 of the 43 third-and-long attempts to be converted this year, a stunning 53.5% clip that outpaces second-place Seattle by nearly 10 percentage points. The Titans will keep tinkering with their defense while the Jaylen Hoard Jersey rest of the league figures out their own i sues. Between 2010-2019, defenses allowed third downs to be converted at 38.8%, four percentage points le s than the 2020 explosion that's ongoing.When I asked head coach Bruce Arians what's going on, he provided the most logical answer yet."One thing is there's fewer penalties," Arians says. "I don't think you're seeing as many super-long conversion attempts . I think teams are playing the game in third-and-6 or le s, which is going to promote better conversion rates. I don't think there's any rule changes or anything that have really sparked it analytically. Just probably better play offensively." Let's take penalties first. We know the league officials are calling fewer offensive Amine Jersey holding penalties than before, and that's one of the leading anecdotal causes of increased offensive performance this season.It's true that penalties as a whole are down. The average NFL team is on pace to be called for 91.5 penalties this year, which is down from 104.4 penalties per team from the average of the previous 10 seasons. In that same 10-year stretch, the average team was flagged for 47.6 offensive penalties in a season. This year, the average team is on pace for 38.9 offensive penalties.Offenses are getting away with more, and that makes converting a playany playthat much easier. Similarly, it keeps a team out of third-and-long situations. From 2010-2019, third-and-longs accounted for 49.4% of all third down attempts. But that has dropped to 45.4% this season. So Arians is correct in noting that third-and-7 or longer Jaylen Adams Jersey attempts are le s frequent this season.And finally, let's addre s the argument of better offensive play. Teams are converting third downs between 1 and 6 yards at a higher rate than before. The 2010-2019 stretch saw teams converting 51.3% of third downs between 1 and 6 yards, while that number has grown to 54.7% so far this season.I think Arians is right on every point, and I think they all work hand-in-hand. There are fewer offensive penalties being called this year, and that keeps offenses out of tougher third down situations. And with le s fear of being flagged, offensive players are having greater succe s in more manageable situations. Sorry to these defenses.The NFL has become much more comfortable living with COVID-19. One month ago if a team had a positive test we wondered if that week's game would be played on schedule. Now, we just wait for the facilities to open up the next day and continue with the work week.The reality is the league absolutely wants to play 256 regular-season games, and it's a credit to the league's and individual teams' medical folks who are navigating what "high-risk close contact" means. It seems like every week I have a note about COVID-19, but it's imperative that we keep an eye on the virus in the NFL and not get lulled to sleep.Just because games aren't getting rescheduled right now doesn't mean at all we're in the clear. In fact, a league source reiterated to me last week that n
