Which NFL player has the most interceptions in a season?
The expansion of the NFL regular season in 2021 has brought up conversations about how all-time records will be affected. However, fans must remember the NFL once played 12 games per season, before jumping to 14 and then to 16 before this move to 17.
For most past stars, their records have been broken due to the longer season. Yet one still remains intact, all the way back from 1952, when the season was 12 games long. That is the single-season interception record.
Which NFL legend owns the single-season interception record?
Dick Lane, also known as "Night Train Lane," had 14 interceptions back in the 1952 NFL season with the Los Angeles Rams. His story is one that all NFL fans need to know.
Lane was an undrafted player who got a tryout with the Rams. As a result, he showed up and had 14 interceptions during his rookie season. Two went for touchdowns, and his 14 picks may have had fans thinking that was a normal occurrence. Yet his record has never been broken.
Trevon Diggs is currently on pace to finish the season with 13 INTs. That's impressive, but it wouldn't be the NFL record. The record is held by Dick “Night Train” Lane when he had 14 INTs in 1952 for the LA Rams 🤯 https://t.co/z4N2OpEl5q
Lane broke the previous record of 13, which was set by Dan Sandifer in 1948. Spec Sanders then tied that mark in 1950. No one since Lester Hayes, who had 13 interceptions in 1980, has challenged Lane's record since.
Night Train did so well as a rookie that he had a tough time trying to catch his own record throughout the remainder of his career. Opposing offenses started to avoid him, but he did finish with 10 interceptions in 1954. He had 68 in his career en route to seven First-Team All-Pro nods.
#OTD in 1962 Dick "Night Train" Lane intercepts Johnny Unitas at the goal line to seal a 21-14 win over the Colts at #TigerStadium https://t.co/gAUjLDl0oS
Miami Dolphins defender Xavien Howard was the most recent player to make a run at the record with his 10 interceptions in 2020. This proves just how hard it is to have a season like Lane did, and he put up those numbers at a time when the passing games around the NFL were not as prominent as they are now. That meant he was seizing his opportunities whenever they were given.
Lane's record is technically at a greater risk of being broken now that defenders have an extra game each year to find another interception or two. However, the fact it has lasted this long proves a 17th game may still not be enough for a player to reach 14 interceptions in the modern NFL.