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Three stats the Packers must improve in the 2019 season

By Freddie Boston

LANDOVER, MD - SEPTEMBER 23: Aaron Rodgers #12 of the Green Bay Packers is sacked by Da'Ron Payne #95 of the Washington Redskins in the third quarter at FedExField on September 23, 2018 in Landover, Maryland. (Photo by Todd Olszewski/Getty Images)
LANDOVER, MD - SEPTEMBER 23: Aaron Rodgers #12 of the Green Bay Packers is sacked by Da'Ron Payne #95 of the Washington Redskins in the third quarter at FedExField on September 23, 2018 in Landover, Maryland. (Photo by Todd Olszewski/Getty Images) /
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Green Bay Packers, Aaron Rodgers
FOXBOROUGH, MA – NOVEMBER 04: Aaron Rodgers #12 of the Green Bay Packers reacts during the second half against the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium on November 4, 2018 in Foxborough, Massachusetts. (Photo by Adam Glanzman/Getty Images) /

3. Third down percentage

If there’s a statistic that correlates to success on offense, it’s third down percentage. And under Mike McCarthy, the Packers were regularly among the best teams in the league at converting on third down. From 2008 to 2014, the Packers never finished lower than ninth in the NFL for third down percentage. Four times in that span, they were inside the top five.

Then the 2015 season arrived. The Packers made a good start, but the offense began to struggle in a loss to Denver and never recovered. As a result, they finished 28th in third down percentage. And despite bouncing back to second the following season in the “run the table” year, they finished 13th in 2017 and 23rd last season.

In 2018, the Packers converted just 36.8 percent of their third down attempts. Of the teams that finished in the top 13 for third down percentage last season, nine made the playoffs. The bottom 10, which included the Packers, all failed to reach the postseason.

They weren’t much better on fourth down, either, converting just 50 percent of their attempts, which was 20th in the NFL.

Green Bay needs to sustain long, scoring drives, and to do that they need to have a big improvement on third down.

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