Peyton Manning holds a number of NFL records, like the most passing yards (5,477) and touchdowns through the air (55) in a single season, but there’s one record that haunts him to this day: throwing the most interceptions by a rookie quarterback in a single season.
His 28 interceptions thrown back in the 1998 season with the Indianapolis Colts still stands nearly 26 years later. The closest anyone has gotten to this record since was in 2017 when Cleveland Browns rookie DeShone Kizer threw 22 interceptions, as StatMuse details.
Manning was asked by This Is Football’s Kevin Clark if he could go back and change one of the plays in his NFL career, which he’d choose. And the former quarterback had more than choice.
“Can I have all 28 reps of the 28 interceptions I threw my rookie year?” Manning said. “I want at least 16 of those back. Surely you have to throw some interceptions as a rookie, but 28, that’s just way too many now.”
I asked Peyton Manning what play he'd like back: He said about sixteen of his record-setting 28 INTs as a rookie. He used that as a jumping off point to talk about CJ Stroud and how impressed he's been--and why Peyton's INT record will never be broken. Great stuff on @CJ7STROUD. pic.twitter.com/rMpd4PgLNf
— Kevin Clark (@bykevinclark) January 9, 2024
The 47-year-old admitted that he doesn’t think any rookie quarterback will break this record, although he could see his other NFL records being shattered soon.
“Unfortunately, even with the 17 weeks, it’s never gonna get broken because when the rookies struggle now, the coaches take them out. They sit them down,” Manning said. “I’m like ‘No! You’ve gotta be in there all 17 weeks to break this record. Leave him in there. Let him learn the hard way.’ ... The interception record, who’s going to step up and break that?”
The most interceptions thrown by a rookie in the 2023 season was Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young and he threw just 10.
