I often refer to third and long as turnover territory when the Kansas City Chiefs are on defense. The Chiefs pass rushers can pin their ears back and go while they usually have six defensive backs on the field to prepare for the pass.
As it turns out, third and long actually is turnover territory for the Chiefs. This is a cool stat from ESPN’s NFL Matchup show on the Chiefs third down passing defense.
#Chiefs 3rd down Pass D is excellent - Teams are 18/41 passing (44%) with 0 TD / 3 INT - Man Coverage (77%) and 1-high safety #ChiefsKingdom
— NFL Matchup on ESPN (@NFLMatchup) October 3, 2017
Small sample size alert, I know. The Chiefs have four interceptions on the season and three of them have come on third down. The Chiefs third down defense as a whole is ranked in the middle of the pack but when you create turnovers it stands out.
You can now all join me and shout “turnover territory” when third and long comes up.