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In week 9 of 2017 season LA Rams converted a 3rd and 33 and scored a touchdown on the same play against the New York Giants.

Inspired by this, I'm wondering what are the longest 3rd and 4th down conversions in the history of the NFL in the regular and the post seasons. Also provide the same stats for longest 3rd/4th down and goal conversions.

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  • When you say "conversion", would a 70 yard pass on 4th and 1 be considered a long conversion or a short conversion? Dec 3, 2017 at 10:07
  • A short conversion
    – alamoot
    Dec 4, 2017 at 3:20

1 Answer 1

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It was surprisingly difficult to find solid data on this - individual play data is only readily available back to 1994, so consider this accurate up to that point. Anyway, the longest 3rd down conversion I could find was Viking Leroy Hoard running 53 yards up the middle on 3rd and 37 against the Broncos on 10/31/99.

The longest 4th down conversion since 1994 was the Bill's Rob Johnson throwing a bomb for a 40 yard touchdown to Peerless Price against the Colts on 4th and 34 on 9/23/01.

The longest down since 1994 was 3rd and 50 yards, faced by two teams: the Vikings vs. the Packers (12/20/99) and the Redskins vs. the Bengals (9/23/12). Neither was converted.

The longest 4th down since 1994 was a 4th and 48 by the Raiders against the Chiefs on 10/13/13. They unsurprisingly punted.

I can't find a way to filter for 3rd/4th and goal, but hopefully this at least partially scratches your itch. All plays found with this tool.

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