Interception An interception or pick is a move involving a pass , either by foot or hand , being caught by an opposition player , who usually gains possession for his team . It is commonly used in football , including Canadian and American football , as well as rugby league , rugby union , Australian rules football and Gaelic football . American / Canadian football . In American or Canadian football , an interception occurs when a forward pass is caught by a player of the opposing team . This leads to an immediate change of possession during the play : the defender who caught the ball immediately assumes the role of the offense and attempts to move the ball as far towards the opposing goal as possible . Following the stoppage of play , if the interceptor retained possession of the ball , his team takes over possession at the spot where he was downed . Interceptions are predominantly made by the secondary or the linebacker s , who are usually closest to the quarterback ' s intended targets , the wide receiver s , running back s , and tight end s . Less frequently , a defensive lineman may get an interception from a tipped ball , a near sack , a shovel pass , or a screen pass . As soon as a pass is intercepted , everyone on the defense immediately acts as blockers , helping the person with the interception get as much yardage as possible and perhaps a touchdown ; at the same time , everyone on the offense becomes the defense and may attempt to tackle the ball - carrier . Only the interception of a forward passes is recorded statistically as an interception . The interception of a lateral pass is recorded as a fumble . Interception returned for touchdown . An interception is commonly referred to as an " " INT " " or a " " pick " " , a shortened form of " " picked off " " . An interception returned for a touchdown is commonly referred to as a " " pick 6 " " because the resulting touchdown is worth 6 points . ESPN columnist Bill Simmons suggested the abbreviation " TAINT " ( Touchdown After INTerception ) , but this largely failed to catch on , possibly because of other slang meanings of " taint . " Simmons himself associated the failure of the term to catch on with the concurrent failure of " Taint " as a nickname for quarterback Tarvaris Jackson . Notable players . NFL . Lester Hayes of the Oakland Raiders was one of the NFL ' s leaders at interceptions in the late 1970s and early 1980s . He was known for covering his chest , shoulders and forearms with a copious amount of the adhesive Stickum to help him hold onto the ball . After the NFL outlawed the use of such foreign substances in 1981 , Hayes ' success rate at interceptions dropped below average though that could be due to his reputation as a " shutdown cornerback " , which discouraged opposing teams from throwing to his side of the field . He continued to use the substance , which he called " pick juice " , by having it applied in smaller amounts to his wrists . Paul Krause holds the record for most career interceptions , with 81 , and is tied for third place for most interceptions by an NFL rookie in his first season , with 12 . He played his first three years in the NFL from 1964 to 1967 with the Washington Redskins but was traded to the Minnesota Vikings , where he spent most of his career . Krause played until 1979 and appeared in four Super Bowl s with the Vikings . He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1998 . Rod Woodson played 16 seasons with Pittsburgh , San Francisco , Baltimore , and Oakland , and holds the NFL record for most interceptions returned for touchdowns in an NFL career with 12 . Also , he holds the NFL record for most total defensive TD returns in a career with 13 . Woodson , who is third on the NFL all - time career interception list with 71 , was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2009 . New Orleans Saints safety Darren Sharper , most notable for playing 8 seasons with the Green Bay Packers and the Minnesota Vikings from 2005 – 2008 , has a career total of 63 interceptions , and has returned 11 of those for touchdowns . Sharper holds the NFL record for interception return yardage in a single season with 376 yards in 2009 . He is also tied with Rod Woodson for most total defensive TD returns career with 13 . Ty Law , formerly of the New England Patriots , New York Jets , and Kansas City Chiefs , had 52 career interceptions . Champ Bailey , who played for the Washington Redskins and currently plays for the Denver Broncos , had 10 interceptions in 2006 and has a career total of 50 . Strong safety Sammy Knight had 42 interceptions in his career . Ed Reed of the Baltimore Ravens holds the record for the longest interception return , 108 yards against the Philadelphia Eagles on November 23 , 2008 . Reed also holds the record for the second longest interception return , 106 yards against the Cleveland Browns on November 7 , 2004 . Reed also has a total of 61 interceptions and holds the record for the most interception return yardage in NFL history ( 1541 ) . Brett Favre holds the record for most career interceptions thrown : 336 . Favre ' s first pass in an NFL regular season game resulted in an interception returned for a touchdown . Favre ' s last pass as a Green Bay Packer was an INT as well thrown to Corey Webster of the New York Giants in the 2007 NFC championship game to lose the game . Rodney Harrison of the New England Patriots was the first player in NFL history to have 30 interceptions and 30 sacks over the course of his career . He set that historic benchmark on October 21 , 2007 . The Baltimore Ravens ' Ray Lewis was the second to accomplish this feat . He recorded his 30th interception November 21 , 2010 , intercepting the Carolina Panthers ' Brian St . Pierre and returning the ball for a touchdown . Lewis is also the only member of the 40 / 30 club ( at least 40 sacks and at least 30 interceptions ) . On November 21 , 2010 Ronde Barber became the only player in NFL history with at least 25 sacks ( 26 total ) and 40 interceptions with a 21 – 0 win over the San Francisco 49ers . His jersey and gloves from the game were subsequently retired to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton . Asante Samuel of the Atlanta Falcons , with 4 postseason INT returns for a TD , is the NFL ' s all - time leader . James Harrison of the Pittsburgh Steelers set the record for the longest interception return for a touchdown in a Super Bowl in Super Bowl XLIII . The NFL ' s Defensive Player of the Year Harrison picked off Kurt Warner ' s pass and returned it a Super Bowl - record 100 yards for a touchdown on the final play of the first half to give the Pittsburgh Steelers a 17 - 7 lead over the Arizona Cardinals . Tom Brady of the New England Patriots holds the record for most consecutive pass attempts without an interception ( 358 ) . Brady ' s regular - season streak of pass attempts without an interception ended on September 12 , 2011 , against the Miami Dolphins . Brady also holds the record for the highest touchdown / interception ratio at 9 : 1 . On December 26 , 2010 , Brady overtook the previous record of 308 consecutive completed passes without an interception , held by Bernie Kosar of the Cleveland Browns since 1991 . Kosar ' s regular - season streak of pass attempts without an interception ended on November 10 , 1991 , against the Philadelphia Eagles . CFL . James Johnson was named the Outstanding Player of the 95th Grey Cup on November 25 , 2007 , after intercepting a record three passes , including one for a 30 - yard touchdown . His defensive efforts helped lead the Saskatchewan Roughriders to a 23 - 19 victory over their CFL Prairie rival Winnipeg Blue Bombers . This was the first time since 1994 that a defensive player was awarded the Grey Cup ' s top individual title . His most notable interception of the game was when he intercepted Ryan Dinwiddie ' s final pass and secured Saskatchewan ' s victory .