Dallas plays at Buffalo tomorrow, and I will be interested in see the matchup. Josh Allen keeps throwing interceptions, while the Cowboys have been the best at returning interceptions for touchdowns.
DaRon Bland specifically. He’s scored a record 5 TDs on interception returns. More so than other corners, he’s looking to jump routes and take it to house.
Allen is one of the game’s best quarterbacks, but he also tends to make a couple of crazy throws per game. At a time when interceptions are down, he’s thrown at least one in nine straight games. That’s closing in on the longest streak of the last 20 years.
The numbers, courtesy of the search tools at Pro-Football-Reference, appear below. Since the move to 32 teams in 2002, five quarterbacks have had streaks of 12 games. That includes a couple of Gold Jacket guys, Brett Favre and Drew Brees.
I also looked at numbers dating back to the merger in 1970. The two longest streaks belong to a pair of quarterbacks who’ve been Super Bowl MVPs. Joe Namath went 20 games in a row, while Terry Bradshaw threw picks in 17 straight. And early-career Troy Aikman had a 14-game string.
Note that while Allen keeps throwing interceptions, none of those picks in his last nine games have been returned for touchdowns. I’m not sure why that is. Chance probably plays the largest role, but Allen is more athletic than typical quarterbacks, with more ability to run guys down. Of the 23 quarterbacks listed below, only four others (tagged with black dots) didn’t have any of their interceptions returned for touchdowns.
| INTERCEPTIONS IN NINE STRAIGHT GAMES (2002-) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Start | Player | Team | Streak | Pick6 |
| 2005 | Brett Favre | G.B. | 12 | 3 |
| 2006 | Jon Kitna | Det. | 12 | 2 |
| 2010 | Drew Brees | N.O. | 12 | 4 |
| 2011 | John Skelton | Ari. | 12 | 2 |
| 2011 | • Rex Grossman | Was. | 12 | 0 |
| 2003 | Marc Bulger | St.L. | 11 | 1 |
| 2003 | Anthony Wright | Balt. | 10 | 2 |
| 2010 | Donovan McNabb | Was. | 10 | 2 |
| 2016 | • Joe Flacco | Balt. | 10 | 0 |
| 2002 | • Jake Plummer | Ari. | 9 | 0 |
| 2003 | Brett Favre | G.B. | 9 | 2 |
| 2004 | Vinny Testaverde | Dall. | 9 | 3 |
| 2006 | Jay Cutler | Den. | 9 | 2 |
| 2006 | Derek Anderson | Cle. | 9 | 1 |
| 2006 | Charlie Frye | Cle. | 9 | 1 |
| 2007 | • Sage Rosenfels | Hou. | 9 | 0 |
| 2010 | Chad Henne | Mia. | 9 | 1 |
| 2012 | Carson Palmer | Oak. | 9 | 2 |
| 2013 | Carson Palmer | Ari. | 9 | 1 |
| 2014 | Blake Bortles | Jac. | 9 | 4 |
| 2014 | Philip Rivers | S.D. | 9 | 4 |
| 2015 | Peyton Manning | Den. | 9 | 3 |
| 2023 | Josh Allen | Buff. | 9 | 0 |
Statistics compiled using search tools at Pro-Football-Reference.com
—Ian Allan