Longest distances to go for a first down

Every so often, a drive stalls in epic fashion and the offense is saddled with a huge distance to complete a first down.

Long distances to go for a first down, prior to 1980

Official play-by-play stat sheets — currently referred to as “gamebooks” — have been compiled by the NFL since 1944, but have been archived by teams in haphazard fashion. As of this writing, we’ve been able to compile a definitive record of play-by-plays from 1980 to present, but there were 60 seasons of NFL football for which we lack comprehensive data.

That said, we do know of some notable instances in that 60-year span where a team was saddled with a long distance to convert a first down:

Pittsburgh Pirates vs. Cincinnati Reds, 51 yards (goal-to-go)

Oct. 11, 1933

The now-Steelers franchise, in its first year of its existence and using the baseball team’s eponym, were hit with what was likely to have been the largest offensive penalty in NFL history. At the time, a foul for striking, kneeing, or kicking an opponent was an ejection and was penalized half the distance to the goal. A foul from one’s own 10 would be a 5-yard penalty; own 40, a 20-yard penalty, and so on.

The Pirates were on their opponent’s 2-yard line when fullback Tony Holm was flagged for slugging Reds¹The Reds were also in their first year of existence and were also named for the local baseball team. Unlike their Pittsburgh counterpart, they folded in the middle of the second season after failing to pay league dues. Cincinnati wouldn’t have NFL football again until 1968. linebacker²In the terminology of the day, Clark was referred to as a defensive “quarterback” to indicate his location in the formation. Meyers Clark.³The Pittsburgh Press, unlike the Post-Gazette put below, has the punched player as being end Dick “Tiny” Powell and adds an extra five inches to Powell’s PFR-listed 6’2″ height. Your choice on which Pittsburgh paper to believe.. The resulting 49-yard penalty put the Pirates in a goal-to-go situation on their side of midfield.

Longest offensive penalty in Steelers history? NFL history?

Pittsburgh’s 1st season (1933 Pirates) – Tony Holm was DQ’d from game. By rule, Pit was penalized half the distance to the goal.

Pit was at Cincy 2, thus moved back 49 yards to midfield!@QuirkyResearch @footballzebras pic.twitter.com/3LAgRoWKUu

— Steel City Star (@steelcitystar) August 16, 2021

A rule change the next season capped the yardage for a disqualification at 15 yards, making it unlikely that anyone will ever threaten this record⁴The longest offensive penalty since 1981 was a mere 30-yard intentional grounding call against Matt Hasselbeck in 2007..

Baltimore Colts at 49ers, 4th & 60

Nov. 29, 1953

At some point in the 2nd quarter, the Colts, in their first season as a franchise, retreated from the San Francisco 31 to their own 19 on a combination of negative plays and twenty yards worth of penalties.

Packers vs. Vikings, 3rd & 53

Oct. 29, 1961

The expansion Vikings, already down 14-0 early in the second quarter, managed to push back the 1961 NFL champions for one series.

1. Holding for loss of 17. Incomplete pass
2. Holding for loss of 15. Sack for loss of 11.
3. On 3rd & 53, pass for a gain of 9
4. Punt (4th & 44)

Giants at Packers, 3rd & 52

Dec. 30, 1962 NFL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME

On this date in 1962, the Giants failed to convert 3rd and 52 after consecutive 20+ yard holding penalties knocked them out of position to score the go-ahead touchdown in the NFL Championship Game. pic.twitter.com/UGaNo5G7Fh

— Quirky Research (@QuirkyResearch) December 30, 2020

The Giants, trailing 13-7 when this series started at the Green Bay 18 late in the third quarter, wouldn’t score for the rest of the game.

It started going nowhere — which was a vast improvement of where it ended up — with incomplete passes on first and second down. Then, the Giants committed offensive holds on consecutive plays. At the time, offensive holding was always enforced 15 yards from the spot of the foul, resulting in penalties of 22 and 20 yards. Faced with a monstrous 3rd & 52, Giants quarterback Y.A. Tittle threw another incomplete pass.

A rule change in 1972 would enforce penalties by the offense behind the line of scrimmage from the previous spot, with the exception of intentional grounding. Holding was reduced to 10 yards in 1978.

Steelers at Oakland Raiders, 4th & 74

Oct. 25, 1970

The indisputable NFL clubhouse leader for the worst distance to a first down⁵There have been longer to-go distances at lower levels of football; Louisiana Tech faced a 3rd & 93 after a shotgun sack gone wild against Mississippi State in 2017. is held by the 1970 Steelers, led by rookie quarterback Terry Bradshaw.

The official scorekeeping records the first down as a 7-yard loss and a 16-yard sack on second down. Third down started with a run where there was a clipping foul 6 yards downfield, so this was a net -9, but the down repeated. On the next snap, the Steelers were flagged for offensive holding 8 yards in their backfield, a -23 in net yardage, and repeat the down. On 3rd & 65, Steelers rookie quarterback Terry Bradshaw just ate the loss and threw an incomplete pass. To add further indignity already suffered by the Steelers, officials tacked on an intentional grounding penalty, which is officially recorded as -9 yards, since it was half the distance to their own goal.

The 3rd & 65 is also the longest distance we have found for any down before 4th down.

On 4th & 74 with the ball on their own 9 and the line to gain at the Raiders 17, the Steelers punted to the Raiders who took over 58 yards away after a hold was enforced against them on the return.

Perhaps this could be seen as a tipping point in the Steelers fortunes. A perennial cellar dweller for the first four decades of its existence, the Steelers would make the playoffs two years later for the first time since 1947⁶Not including the 1962 Bert Bell Playoff Bowl, a third-place consolation game that was played in the 1960s. and would close out the decade with four Super Bowl titles.

Saints vs. Falcons, 3rd & 50

Oct. 25, 1970

That same day, the Saints were trying to rally back from 25-14 down with two minutes to go. On 2nd & 6 from his own 45, quarterback Billy Kilmer completed a bomb what looked like a 55-yard touchdown to Ken Burrough, but Burrough was called for offensive pass interference. The next snap saw another holding call on the Saints, with an unsportsmanlike penalty tacked on after the Saints protested. Facing 3rd & 50 from his own 1, Kilmer was sacked in the end zone by John Zook, fumbled, and Falcons defensive end Randy Marshall recovered for the clinching score.

1. Pass for 4.
2. Offensive pass interference for loss of 15. Two other penalties for 18 and 10 yards. Loss of 1.
3. On 3rd & 50, sacked in the end zone for loss of 1. Fumble recovered for opposing touchdown.

Lions vs. St. Louis Cardinals, 2nd (and 3rd) & 59

Dec. 6, 1970

1. Holding for loss of 21. Sack for loss of 4.
2. Holding for loss of 24. On 2nd & 59, run for 0.
3. On 3rd & 59, pass for 15.
4. Punt (4th & 44).

Cowboys at Patriots, 4th & 63

October 24, 1971⁷The overwhelmingly dark news of the day was in Detroit. Lions wide receiver Chuck Hughes collapsed near the end of the game against the Bears. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation was unable to save Hughes, who remains the only player to have died on an NFL field.

On this date in 1971, the Patriots punted on 4th and 63. pic.twitter.com/e2EJHmTywc

— Quirky Research (@QuirkyResearch) October 24, 2019

Texas Stadium’s scheduled opening had been delayed twice until this game; it didn’t take long for the Doomsday Defense to make it home.

1. Sack for a loss of 8
2. Sack for a loss of 12
3. Sack for loss of 11, plus offensive holding loss of 15 from spot of the foul. On 3rd & 56, rush for a loss of 7
4. Punt (4th and 63)

Giants at Eagles, 3rd & 55

Sept. 19, 1976

Both of these teams were bad, but the Giants were worse, especially in this third-quarter sequence.

1. Rush and fumble recovery for a loss of 5
2. Offensive holding for loss of 10. Unnecessary roughness for loss of 15. Incomplete pass
3. Clipping for loss of 15. On 3rd & 55, rush for a gain of 7
4. Punt (4th & 48)

Chiefs vs. Packers, 3rd & 56

Nov. 6, 1977

On this date in 1977, the Chiefs failed to convert a 3rd and 56. pic.twitter.com/KyK52kblwe

— Quirky Research (@QuirkyResearch) November 6, 2021

1. Rush for a 2 yard gain
2. Offensive holding on consecutive downs for a loss of 10 each. Tripping for a loss of 10. Sack for loss of 18.
3. On 3rd & 56, rush for a gain of 10.
4. Punt (4th & 46)

Longest distances to go for a first down, 1980-present

All instances of an offensive team being at least 40 yards from the line-to-gain are listed here. Yardages of 40 or more are listed in the downs columns. Penalties are shown in ALL CAPS and are the foul codes used by officials.⁸The full list of penalty abbreviations can be found here. Multiple actions on the same play are connected with an ampersand, and the yardage of multiple penalties are combined. Intentional grounding (ING) implies a play with an incomplete pass.

Links: boxscore video

Footnotes

• 1
  The Reds were also in their first year of existence and were also named for the local baseball team. Unlike their Pittsburgh counterpart, they folded in the middle of the second season after failing to pay league dues. Cincinnati wouldn’t have NFL football again until 1968.
• 2
  In the terminology of the day, Clark was referred to as a defensive “quarterback” to indicate his location in the formation.
• 3
  The Pittsburgh Press, unlike the Post-Gazette put below, has the punched player as being end Dick “Tiny” Powell and adds an extra five inches to Powell’s PFR-listed 6’2″ height. Your choice on which Pittsburgh paper to believe.
• 4
  The longest offensive penalty since 1981 was a mere 30-yard intentional grounding call against Matt Hasselbeck in 2007.
• 5
  There have been longer to-go distances at lower levels of football; Louisiana Tech faced a 3rd & 93 after a shotgun sack gone wild against Mississippi State in 2017.
• 6
  Not including the 1962 Bert Bell Playoff Bowl, a third-place consolation game that was played in the 1960s.
• 7
  The overwhelmingly dark news of the day was in Detroit. Lions wide receiver Chuck Hughes collapsed near the end of the game against the Bears. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation was unable to save Hughes, who remains the only player to have died on an NFL field.
• 8
  The full list of penalty abbreviations can be found here.