Automatic First Downs - 2009 to Present

This page shows all penalties that resulted in an automatic first down based on the type of penalty. There are many additional penalties that based on the penalty yardage and distance remaining resulted in a first down.

"3rd & Long" is 3rd down and 6 or more yards. "Desperation" is 3rd and 10 or more or 4th and 6 or more. "Yardage Mitigated" is the total yardage the team had left to get a first down when the flag was thrown granting a gratis first down. Remember: There are more first down plays than 2nd down plays, more 2nd down plays than 3rd, and so on.

Beneficiary means the team benefitted from the penalty. Declined and Offsetting penalties are not shown in this table. Penalties occurring on special teams are not included.

The table below contains the following penalties: Defensive Pass Interference (4213), Defensive Holding (3054), Roughing the Passer (1690), Illegal Contact (1015), Illegal Use of Hands (885), Face Mask (15 Yards) (771), Unsportsmanlike Conduct (339), Horse Collar Tackle (254), Personal Foul (237), Face Mask (217), Taunting (130), Lowering the Head to Initiate Contact (70), Tripping (37), Lowering the Head to Make Forcible Contact (5), Roughing the Kicker (1), and Clipping (1)

Scroll left and right for additional columns.

Team	Games	Total	1st Down	2nd Down	3rd Down	4th Down	3rd & Long	Desperation	Yardage Mitigated	Penalty Yards
Atlanta	274	1.642	0.536	0.507	0.536	0.051	0.314	0.157	13.507	16.996
Cleveland	269	1.409	0.442	0.457	0.454	0.052	0.290	0.123	11.758	14.669
Minnesota	275	1.582	0.549	0.440	0.535	0.040	0.320	0.138	12.542	18.036
Tampa Bay	276	1.562	0.605	0.460	0.453	0.036	0.286	0.156	13.504	18.504
Green Bay	289	1.588	0.505	0.453	0.588	0.028	0.315	0.128	12.910	19.225
Jacksonville	271	1.469	0.528	0.443	0.454	0.041	0.273	0.133	12.461	16.225
Houston	279	1.373	0.491	0.416	0.427	0.025	0.269	0.122	11.566	14.573
Seattle	285	1.358	0.509	0.389	0.400	0.049	0.246	0.123	11.456	15.937
Denver	277	1.556	0.505	0.473	0.523	0.043	0.314	0.130	12.856	17.498
Baltimore	287	1.352	0.432	0.460	0.425	0.028	0.258	0.132	11.530	16.990
LA Chargers	273	1.568	0.582	0.469	0.454	0.055	0.286	0.121	13.458	16.201
N.Y. Giants	273	1.458	0.553	0.407	0.440	0.051	0.223	0.110	11.875	15.190
Cincinnati	278	1.536	0.579	0.468	0.435	0.043	0.259	0.151	12.874	16.608
Detroit	273	1.447	0.557	0.443	0.421	0.022	0.286	0.132	12.473	15.604
New England	291	1.619	0.515	0.553	0.498	0.041	0.296	0.141	13.646	17.529
Arizona	272	1.636	0.585	0.511	0.493	0.037	0.327	0.132	13.930	18.364
Kansas City	293	1.491	0.560	0.440	0.437	0.044	0.276	0.154	13.031	14.396
Dallas	277	1.520	0.484	0.516	0.487	0.025	0.325	0.126	12.841	15.664
San Francisco	286	1.325	0.479	0.339	0.472	0.035	0.297	0.147	11.045	13.843
Pittsburgh	280	1.511	0.554	0.486	0.432	0.025	0.254	0.111	12.439	18.543
Buffalo	279	1.312	0.459	0.391	0.423	0.032	0.280	0.143	11.427	15.391
Washington	272	1.412	0.460	0.426	0.474	0.044	0.276	0.136	11.772	14.621
Las Vegas	268	1.407	0.504	0.384	0.459	0.052	0.325	0.157	12.026	17.209
N.Y. Jets	272	1.353	0.430	0.423	0.456	0.033	0.261	0.121	11.401	15.430
New Orleans	281	1.256	0.381	0.420	0.438	0.018	0.228	0.093	10.377	12.968
Philadelphia	284	1.401	0.521	0.444	0.401	0.021	0.246	0.113	12.137	16.648
Chicago	269	1.394	0.465	0.405	0.480	0.033	0.286	0.171	11.896	15.134
Indianapolis	279	1.602	0.627	0.452	0.498	0.025	0.341	0.154	13.950	19.778
LA Rams	279	1.276	0.444	0.398	0.409	0.025	0.247	0.125	10.581	14.441
Miami	269	1.349	0.565	0.349	0.409	0.022	0.216	0.138	11.480	15.833
Tennessee	273	1.425	0.484	0.381	0.505	0.044	0.337	0.147	11.707	14.487
Carolina	273	1.385	0.443	0.407	0.473	0.051	0.260	0.125	11.546	14.348