What is the longest distance a team has had to go from scrimmage to first down in the history of the NFL? Theoretically the maximum distance is 100 yards (4th & 100), but a lof of conditions would have to be met for that to happen (namely, the offense would have to be at first & goal a few inches from the goal line and then have a very bad series of sacks & penalites).
So, yeah, anyway: what’s the longest distance from scrimmage to first down in NFL history?
And I won’t complain if anyone wants to throw in a few extraordinary college game situations, too.
I can’t find the source or the article, but I remember the Tuesday Morning Quarterback on ESPN.com talking about this once.
He is a Bostonian by blood, and he talked about his dad grousing about penalties levied against the Patriots in one game. This added up to something like a 2nd-and-52 type scenario.
I believe that the line of scrimmage was around their own 20 yard line, so the 1st down marker would have been around the [lesee… counts on fingers, carries the 10…] opponents’ 45 yard line.
The maximum distance to gain a first down is not 100 yards, as stated in the OP. It would be 98 yards. First down would have been marked just outside the ten or on the eleven, which is basically the same thing; the important thing is that it isn’t a first-and-goal. A team could have a first down on the eleven and some sort of fluke set of penalties could put them all the way back to the one. 1st and 98. It could also be possible to have a goal-to-go from your own 1, thus leaving you 99 yards to gain the touchdown.
I seemed to remember this question being asked before; after much searching I came across Football Q: Most yards to go for a first down?. I don’t think this was ever answered definitively, but a Google search gave the following numbers to beat:
First and 48 by Mars Hill College vs. Catawba, 11/4/00. First and 43 by Oregon vs. Oregon St, 11/20/98.
Second and 61 during a Wisconsin(?) high school game.
Third and 67 during a Florida high school football game. Third and 57 by the Florida Gators vs. Mississippi State, 9/30/00.
Fourth and 70: New York high school playoffs. Fourth and 69 during another Florida high school football game. Fourth and 63 by the Patriots vs. Cowboys, 10/23/71.
Anyone kept a record of the longest 3rd and 4th downs converted?
The longest I know of off hand was the Eagles 3rd-and-24 vs Packers last year in the playoffs, but that seems rather short for a record… maybe a playoff record?
Actually, this play from last year was a conversion on 4th-and-26 by Freddie Mitchell who in an interview after the game said (I swear), “I’ve been doing stuff like that all year.”
But I’m posting not so much to nitpick, but to bump the thread because I’d love to know the answer to the OP.
Believe it or not I get that wrong all of the time because I was AT that game (!) and really couldn’t make out the down marker too well. When Freddie caught the ball from my perspective I’d thought he was a few yards short and the season was over.
Now 4th-and-26, THAT might be a record, at least in the playoffs…?
It couldn’t actually be 100 yards, but it could be as close to it as you’d like. Start off first down at an inch outside the 10 yard line, and through whatever bizzare sequence of sacks and penalties you’d like, get pushed back to an inch from your own goal line. Presto, you now have to gain 99 yards 34 inches. If you want to get even closer to the goal lines, toss in a few “half the distance” penalties.
doverpro is right, 98 yards would be the longest distance recordable for a first down. NFL stats do not take into account fractional yards. For example, if the ball is spotted 1 inch from your opponent’s goal line and your tailback leaps over the line for a TD, he is credited with a one yard run. The converse would apply if the ball were spotted 1 inch from your own goal and the tailback ran the ball to the 5 yard line, he is credited with a 4 yard run.
So, say the ball is spotted 1 inch from your goal line and the first down marker is 1 inch from your opponent’s goal - 99 yards, 34 inches away. If your team ran an amazing play that moved the ball within one inch of your opponents goal for a first down, you would statistically be credited with moving from your 1 yard line to your opponent’s 1 yard line - 98 yards.
I don’t think it would be that unlikely. One wouldn’t need a set of penalties, etc. Correct me if I’m wrong, but this is much more likely.
First and goal from the one (or third down and 1 from the 2 or whatever). Ball is hiked and given to a running back who dives over the line. The ball is knocked out in midair and a defensive back picks it up and starts running towards his own goal. Seeing nothing but endzone in front of him, he begins to celebrate at the opponent’s ten. A speedy wide receiver catches up to him and knocks the ball out of his hand. It squirts loose and the wide receiver dives on it on the one. The original offense has the ball back, and it is second and goal from their own one. Or fourth and 98 from the 1…
I remember a similar situation happening in the 1980s or 1990s with a cornerback on the Oilers, I think it was Cris Dishman, during an interception return (which probably means it wasn’t 3rd and 98 or whatever). He returned it and was holding the ball by its end with about 10 yards to go when someone caught up to him and knocked it loose and got the ball back on their own goal line. I can’t google a record of this, though…
Nope, this wouldn’t work, because the fumble recovery by the defensive back means that there has been a change of possession. The subsequent turnover by the defensive back on the opposite 1-yard line then results an a 1st and 10 for the team that was on offense when the previous play occurred.
I know this because it happened in the game I played a couple of weeks ago. Our linebacker intercepted a pass on second and 4, ran it back about 15 yards, and fumbled while being tackled, which was recovered by the other team. They were then awarded 1st and 10, 10 yards behind the previous line-of-scrimmage.
Normally the rule for spotting the ball is that it is considered to be spotted on the next yardline if the ball has gone completely over the previous one. If the ball is touching any part of the hash mark indicating the 11, then the ball is considered to be at the 10
HOWEVER…
Sometimes, they have to fudge the yardlines to make the math add up. Because if the ball were at the 10, it would have to be first and goal to go. As 10-10 = 0 = goal line.
So even though the ball would be considered to be at the 10 yard line in a different situation (say you started 1st and 10 at the 15 and then gained 5 yards, it would be 2nd and 5 at the 10), for statistical purposes the ball is considered to be at the 11.
