What’s the reasoning behind the automatic 1st down penalties?

I get the pass interference. And I get roughing the passer is to protect the QBs.

But the illegal use of hand penalty is dogsh*t. 3rd and 15 and this cheap penalty can bail a team out?

I guess the reasoning from the ref is that “hey, the defense got a competitive advantage during the play. Had the defense not commit the illegal hand to the face, the offense would’ve gotten the 1st down 100%. So we’re going to award the offense a 1st down”. But sometimes the offense still get the 1st down even with the infraction. So it’s NOT the only factor that determine the success/failure of the 1st down conversion.

I’d say illegal use of the hand may have a 15-20% impact on the play. It’s like finding out that you got over charged by 20% at a restaurant and the correct remedy is for the restaurant to give you an automatic free meal.

And why is ‘illegal use of hand’ is auto 1st down but offside is not? Offside has more impact than the former. And offside is more obvious than ‘illegal use of hand’ which is subjective sometimes because linemen are battling each other relentlessly and their hands are bound to touch one another’s helmet. The penalty should be 5yds and replay the down. Same with illegal contact.

End Rant