Fourth-and-one situations are one of the most exciting moments in NFL football. It is an opportunity for each team to assert its dominance, and also an intriguing matching of wits between opposing coaches.

It is often a difficult decision for a coach as to whether or not he should go for it on fourth down. He needs to balance the risk versus the reward, knowing that momentum can shift from one side to the other on the outcome of this single play. So when a coach decides to roll the dice, all eyes are glued to the field.

"What happens on that play is going to change the momentum of the game," says Pittsburgh Steelers head coach MIKE TOMLIN, whose offense converted 7-of-8 fourth-and-one attempts (87.5 percent) in 2009. "It's a calculated risk to go for it on fourth-and-one."

One of the most successful teams when it comes to converting on fourth-and-one is the New England Patriots, who tied the Detroit Lions for the most fourth-and-one attempts (12) in 2009. Over the past three seasons, the Patriots have been successful on 29 of 34 chances (85.3 percent) when attempting to gain that crucial yard (11-for-11 in 2007, 9-for-11 in 2008, 9-for-12 in 2009).

NFL offenses converted 135-of-209 fourth-and-one attempts (64.6 percent) in 2009 and have moved the chains 431 times in 641 attempts (66.8 percent) when needing that lone yard on fourth down over the past three seasons.

Following are the teams from last year with the most attempts and the best efficiency on fourth-and-one:

MOST ATTEMPTS, FOURTH-AND-ONE

Team Att Conv Pct
Source: NFL
New England12975.0
Detroit12433.3
San Francisco11872.7
New York Jets10990.0
Jacksonville10770.0

 

MOST EFFICIENT, FOURTH-AND-ONE (min. 5 attempts)

Team Att Conv Pct
Source: NFL
Miami88100.0
Atlanta77100.0
New York Jets10990.0
Pittsburgh8787.5
Arizona6583.3
Baltimore6583.3

 

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NFL 2010 Football: Fourth-and-One Conversions