An astounding moment in Houston Texans’ history: most interceptions in a season

Though the Houston Texans are the newest franchise in the NFL, they share a fair share of memorable moments and strong team records. One of these records was set a year into their existence. 

Creating turnovers was nothing new for former Houston Texans and New York Jets cornerback Marcus Coleman. Coleman was the true definition of a ballhawk with 25 career interceptions to his name, including six in a breakout 1999 season per Pro Football Reference. 

It was his 2003 season however that saw him etched in the team record books. During that memorable campaign, Coleman recorded seven interceptions, with four of those coming in the first four weeks of the regular season according to ESPN’s game logs. 

Coleman’s campaign will be most remembered for his ball-hawking, but he was far from a one-trick pony. According to Statmuse, Coleman added 70 combined tackles and a forced fumble in one of the finer seasons for a Texans defensive back.

Though the season was less than memorable from a standings point of view as the Texans finished with a 5-11 record, Coleman’s exclamation point will not be quickly forgotten. Two others have come close to trying but none have ultimately overtaken the high benchmark. 

Jalen Pitre was the most recent Texans defensive back to come close to touching the record last season. The 2022 second-round pick burst onto the NFL scene with five interceptions in his rookie season, recording the fourth most interceptions in a single season in franchise history per Statmuse. 

Despite these gaudy numbers it is important to note that interceptions are far less frequent than they were in years prior. While records are meant to be broken there are some that are harder to achieve than others. Marcus Coleman set a high benchmark, one which may take a long time to beat if it is to be broken at all.

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