The New Orleans Saints converted on only three of 12 third downs on Sunday at Houston, including only one in a sputtering first half.
But Saints coach Sean Payton said the problems start with lack of production on the early downs.
"It was tough film to watch," he said Monday of the Saints' 24-6 loss to the Houston Texans. "You start looking at the third down numbers and the distance you're operating in gives you a pretty good idea of either your efficiency or inefficiency on first and second down."
For the Saints, it was inefficiency.