What’s the NFL Record for Most Interceptions in a Season?
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The NFL record for most interceptions in a season is held by Hall of Famer Paul Krause, who had 12 in 1975.
The NFL Record for Most Interceptions in a Season is 20
INTs Player Season Team
20 Dick Lane 1952 Los Angeles Rams
20 Everson Walls 1981 Dallas Cowboys
The 20 Interception Season
In the 1934 NFL season, Bevens Intercepted 20 passes for the New York Giants. This is still the NFL record for most interceptions in a season.
The NFL’s All-Time Leading Interception Seasons
Picking off opposing quarterbacks is one of the most gratifying things a defensive player can do in football. It’s also a stat that can help lead a team to victory, as evidenced by the importance placed on it by NFL teams.
Interceptions can swing momentum in a game and change the complexions of NFL contests on a weekly basis. That’s why some of the league’s all-time greats have made a living off of them.
Players like corners Deion Sanders and Darrell Green, as well as safeties Ronnie Lott and Ken Houston, used their ball-hawking abilities to help their teams win multiple Super Bowls during their careers.
The NFL’s All-Time Leading Interception Games
In 1948, Emlen Tunnell of the New York Giants picked off an NFL record 10 passes in 12 games. In the 60 years since Tunnell’s record-setting season, only four NFL players have had more interceptions in a season than the Giants’ Hall of Fame defensive back.
George Blanda is the only player in NFL history with more than 10 interceptions in a season. Blanda, who played 26 seasons as a quarterback and kicker, intercepted 11 passes for the Houston Oilers in 1966.
Rod Woodson, who like Tunnell is a member of both the Pro Football and College Football Halls of Fame, is second on the list with nine interceptions for the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1993. Hall of Fame defensive back Deion Sanders had eight interceptions for the Dallas Cowboys in 1999, while future Hall of Famer Charles Woodson had eight picks for the Green Bay Packers in 2009.
