There’s quite a bit of hidden yardage in the game of football that isn’t often discussed and a lot of it comes via defensive pass interference penalties. In fact, you might be surprised to know that Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger led the NFL in 2017 in penalty yards drawn against defenses via pass interference penalties.
According to my stat research, Roethlisberger was the recipient of 14 defensive pass interference penalties riding the 2017 regular season. Those 14 penalties resulted in 299 yards being gained, which is essentially hidden in the stat books. 7 of those 14 passes were deep throws, meaning they flew in the air 16 or more yards past the original line of scrimmage.