Over the last eight games the Saints defense has allowed an impressive average of only 18.75 points per game. Again, if that was their season average, it would be good enough to rank them 6th best among all teams.

Hmmm...that's weird. How the hell is a defense giving up so much yardage but holding opponents to so few points? How does such a huge statistical discrepancy exist? It's not turnovers. Nope, they're -3 overall for the season, which ranks them 19th overall. So what could it be?

It's because they're shutting that ish down when it matters most: on third down. The Saints defense finished the regular season ranked 5th in third down defense, allowing just 33.17% of opponent third downs to be converted. But they've only gotten better because over the last eight games, the defense has allowed a paltry 24.65% of third downs to be converted. That would be best in the league by a mile if it was their season average.