Quarterbacks and passing games are getting better, and rule changes are more quarterback-friendly all the time. Whichever you choose to give more credit to, teams are putting up better passing numbers than ever before. Accordingly, defenses aren't having as much success against those passing games, not only in terms of yards allowed, but also in terms of interceptions.
League-wide, defenses allowed an average of 252 passing yards per game last year, some 30 yards more than they were 10 and 20 years ago. In that same time frame, interceptions have dropped from 17 per team per season to just 14 last year. Teams have now averaged under 15 interceptions in two of the last three years. Only one other time in the last 20 years have they been under 15.
The first table below shows average interceptions per team over the last 20 years. It's been a fairly steady decline -- and a particularly steep one over the last 7-8 years. The second table shows team interceptions for the 2014 season. Only 13 of them had more than 14 interceptions.
INTERCEPTIONS, YEAR BY YEAR (1995-2014) | |
---|---|
Year | Avg. INTs |
1995 | 17.1 |
1996 | 18.1 |
1997 | 16.0 |
1998 | 17.0 |
1999 | 18.1 |
2000 | 17.1 |
2001 | 17.6 |
2002 | 16.5 |
2003 | 16.8 |
2004 | 16.4 |
2005 | 15.8 |
2006 | 16.3 |
2007 | 16.7 |
2008 | 14.5 |
2009 | 16.4 |
2010 | 16.0 |
2011 | 15.8 |
2012 | 14.6 |
2013 | 15.7 |
2014 | 14.1 |
INTERCEPTIONS BY TEAM (2014) | ||
---|---|---|
Rk | Team | INTs |
1. | San Francisco | 23 |
2. | Cleveland | 21 |
3. | Cincinnati | 20 |
3. | Detroit | 20 |
3. | Houston | 20 |
6. | Buffalo | 19 |
7. | Arizona | 18 |
7. | Dallas | 18 |
7. | Denver | 18 |
7. | Green Bay | 18 |
11. | NY Giants | 17 |
12. | Atlanta | 16 |
12. | New England | 16 |
14. | Carolina | 14 |
14. | Chicago | 14 |
14. | Miami | 14 |
14. | Tampa Bay | 14 |
18. | Minnesota | 13 |
18. | Seattle | 13 |
18. | St. Louis | 13 |
21. | Indianapolis | 12 |
21. | New Orleans | 12 |
21. | Philadelphia | 12 |
21. | Tennessee | 12 |
25. | Baltimore | 11 |
25. | Pittsburgh | 11 |
27. | Oakland | 9 |
28. | San Diego | 7 |
28. | Washington | 7 |
30. | Jacksonville | 6 |
30. | Kansas City | 6 |
30. | NY Jets | 6 |
--Andy Richardson