We look at the players with the most interceptions in NFL history, from the most interceptions in a game, to the most interceptions in a season, to the most interceptions in a career.
While the most common way to regain possession in American football is by preventing the opposing team from picking up a first down, there are a couple of shortcuts to getting the ball.
An interception is when a pass is thrown and caught by a player on the defending team, who then take possession of the football.
If an interception is followed by a run into the endzone, a touchdown is awarded, and is commonly known as a 'pick six', pick being slang for an interception, and six being the number of points awarded for a touchdown.
Rank | Player | Interceptions |
1 | Paul Krause | 81 |
2 | Emlen Tunnell | 79 |
3 | Rod Woodson | 71 |
4 | Dick Lane | 68 |
5 | Ken Riley | 65 |
5 | Charles Woodson | 65 |
Some sporting records will simply never be broken, and Paul Krause's NFL interceptions record is likely one of them.
Although there are more pass attempts these days than there were 50 years ago, the number of interceptions is steadily declining, largely due to more detailed offensive plays and rule changes that made it harder for interceptions to be completed. As such, only one of the top six in terms of career interceptions played in the NFL beyond 2003 and only two since 1983.
Rank | Player | Interceptions | Year |
1 | Night Train Lane | 14 | 1952 |
2 | Dan Sandifer | 13 | 1948 |
2 | Spec Sanders | 13 | 1950 |
2 | Lester Hayes | 13 | 1980 |
5 | Bob Nussbaumer | 12 | 1949 |
5 | Jack Christiansen | 12 | 1953 |
5 | Paul Krause | 12 | 1964 |
5 | Emmitt Thomas | 12 | 1974 |
5 | Mike Reinfeldt | 12 | 1979 |
As with Paul Krause, it's unthinkable that anybody will ever top Dick Lane - better known as Night Train Lane - and his 14 interceptions, all in his rookie season, no less, set back in 1952.
Indeed, since 1981, only Trevon Diggs has led the league with more than 10 interceptions.
No player has ever recorded five interceptions in a single game, but 19 players have all managed four, with Jerry Norton the only player to achieve the feat twice.
Sammy Baugh was first for the Washington Redskins in 1943, with DeAngelo Hall the last player to record four interceptions - also for Washington - in 2010.
Interestingly, the current streak of 14 years is the longest the NFL has gone without someone making four picks in a game.
From oldest to most recent, the players with four interceptions in a game are: