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 (4262), Defensive Holding (3082), Roughing the Passer (1703), Illegal Contact (1032), Illegal Use of Hands (889), Face Mask (15 Yards) (771), Unsportsmanlike Conduct (341), Horse Collar Tackle (254), Personal Foul (237), Face Mask (231), Taunting (131), Lowering the Head to Initiate Contact (70), Tripping (39), 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	277	1.643	0.534	0.516	0.531	0.051	0.310	0.155	13.570	17.061
Cleveland	271	1.413	0.439	0.458	0.461	0.052	0.299	0.125	11.790	14.705
Minnesota	278	1.583	0.550	0.439	0.532	0.043	0.320	0.144	12.590	17.986
Tampa Bay	278	1.561	0.601	0.460	0.453	0.040	0.284	0.155	13.460	18.482
Green Bay	292	1.589	0.507	0.459	0.582	0.027	0.312	0.127	12.942	19.199
Jacksonville	273	1.473	0.531	0.447	0.451	0.040	0.271	0.132	12.575	16.289
Houston	282	1.379	0.496	0.415	0.429	0.025	0.270	0.124	11.638	14.504
Seattle	287	1.366	0.523	0.387	0.397	0.049	0.244	0.122	11.551	16.077
Denver	280	1.550	0.504	0.468	0.521	0.046	0.311	0.129	12.779	17.500
Baltimore	289	1.349	0.429	0.460	0.426	0.028	0.256	0.131	11.495	16.900
LA Chargers	276	1.569	0.576	0.475	0.457	0.054	0.286	0.120	13.442	16.304
N.Y. Giants	276	1.471	0.551	0.409	0.449	0.054	0.236	0.127	12.069	15.377
Cincinnati	281	1.534	0.580	0.470	0.431	0.043	0.256	0.149	12.822	16.562
Detroit	275	1.444	0.553	0.440	0.425	0.022	0.291	0.131	12.425	15.527
New England	294	1.609	0.510	0.551	0.497	0.041	0.296	0.143	13.592	17.384
Arizona	274	1.642	0.584	0.511	0.500	0.036	0.332	0.135	13.964	18.391
Kansas City	296	1.490	0.561	0.436	0.439	0.044	0.277	0.152	12.973	14.311
Dallas	280	1.529	0.479	0.521	0.496	0.025	0.325	0.129	12.804	15.807
San Francisco	289	1.318	0.478	0.339	0.467	0.035	0.294	0.145	11.000	13.744
Pittsburgh	283	1.509	0.551	0.481	0.435	0.025	0.258	0.110	12.406	18.495
Buffalo	281	1.310	0.456	0.391	0.423	0.032	0.281	0.142	11.391	15.317
Washington	275	1.415	0.458	0.429	0.473	0.047	0.273	0.138	11.767	14.658
Las Vegas	270	1.411	0.504	0.389	0.459	0.052	0.326	0.159	12.070	17.230
N.Y. Jets	274	1.347	0.427	0.423	0.453	0.033	0.259	0.120	11.354	15.336
New Orleans	284	1.257	0.380	0.423	0.437	0.018	0.229	0.095	10.468	13.021
Philadelphia	286	1.395	0.517	0.441	0.402	0.021	0.248	0.115	12.091	16.580
Chicago	272	1.390	0.460	0.404	0.482	0.033	0.290	0.173	11.835	15.018
Indianapolis	282	1.596	0.624	0.454	0.493	0.025	0.337	0.152	13.908	19.681
LA Rams	281	1.302	0.452	0.402	0.420	0.028	0.253	0.125	10.715	14.694
Miami	272	1.353	0.570	0.346	0.412	0.022	0.221	0.140	11.537	15.871
Tennessee	276	1.420	0.482	0.380	0.500	0.047	0.333	0.149	11.641	14.449
Carolina	276	1.384	0.446	0.406	0.471	0.051	0.257	0.123	11.525	14.275