By Tyler Harms-Synkiew
In less than a week from today, the Kansas City Chiefs will square off against the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl LIV. Let’s rewind back to the regular season.
In typical fashion, this NFL season was insane. After starting off 8-0, the New England Patriots fell in the first round of the playoffs after a run of 8 straight years in the AFC championship game.
Lamar Jackson rushed for 1,206 yards breaking Michael Vick’s record for most rushing yards by a quarterback in a single season.
Another statistic of note is interceptions. This season Jameis Winston threw for 30 interceptions. It was the first time an NFL quarterback threw for 30 or more interceptions since Vinny Testaverde threw for 35 in 1988.
What I find most impressive about Winston’s interception tally was how it compared to others in NFL history.
At first glance, I assumed 30 interceptions in a season must be some type of record. What I found was shockingly surprising.
Although 30 interceptions in today’s NFL might seem absurd, back in the day, it wasn’t as uncommon as one might think.
The NFL record for most interceptions in a single season is 42 set by George Blanda in 1962.
Between 1962 and 1980, 10 quarterbacks threw for 30 interceptions or more!
However, throwing a lot of interceptions doesn’t necessary make a player bad. Hall of Fame quarterback Brett Favre holds the NFL record for most interceptions in a career with 336.
Yes, it’d be better if quarterbacks could avoid interceptions, but a quarterback can still achieve a lot of success, despite throwing a lot of interceptions.
Although he threw 336 career interceptions, Favre also threw for 71,838 yards and 508 touchdowns; both of which were NFL records at the time of his retirement.
Despite throwing 30 interceptions this season, Winston also threw for 33 touchdowns and a league-leading 5,109 yards, making him just the 12th player in NFL history to pass for over 5,000 yards in a season.
Another stat to prove interceptions aren’t detrimental to one’s career is that four NFL Hall of Famers threw for over 250 career interceptions in there career. Another soon to be Hall of Famer, Peyton Manning, threw for 251 career interceptions.
Interceptions aren’t the end of the world. Yes they can cost games. Important games (just ask Matt Hasselback, who threw a game-losing pick six in the wild card round of the NFL playoffs in 2004) but they can also show signs of a great quarterback trait.
Although interceptions can cost games and don’t do any good for a team or player, they can be a sign of a risk-taking quarterback. Players like Manning and Favre threw for many interceptions in there careers, which seems like a bad thing. While interceptions still are a bad thing, Manning and Favre also had two of the best careers in NFL history; both from a statistical standpoint, and a wins and team success standpoint.
So, after all of this: are interceptions a bad thing? Perhaps still yes, but maybe not as bad as they seem. If a quarterback can still achieve success while throwing an excessive amount of interceptions, then maybe interceptions are just a simple drawback to a great quarterback.
