Green Bay Packers safety Xavier McKinney stretched his interception streak to five games on Sunday by picking off Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford.
McKinney joined the Packers in free agency during the offseason, and so far, he’s intercepted a pass in every game in a Green Bay uniform. No player in franchise history had intercepted a pass in each of his first four games with the Packers until last week, when McKinney picked off Minnesota Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold, and the former Alabama defensive back extended that streak on Sunday.
McKinney intercepted a deep pass by Stafford in the third quarter on a third-and-10 snap at the Green Bay 48-yard line. McKinney caught the football at the Packers 18 and returned the interception 28 yards.
McKinney entered the 2024 season with nine interceptions in 49 regular-season games with the New York Giants. He joined the Packers as a free agent in March for a four-year, $67 million contract.
McKinney intercepted former Alabama teammate Jalen Hurts in the Packers’ 34-29 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles on Sept. 6, Anthony Richardson in Green Bay’s 16-10 victory over the Indianapolis Colts on Sept. 15 and Will Levis in the Packers’ 30-14 victory over the Tennessee Titans on Sept. 22.
McKinney became the fifth player during the NFL’s AFC/NFC era to intercept a pass in each of his team’s first five games of the season.
During the NFL’s AFC/NFC era, the longest interception streak to start a season is six games, accomplished most recently by another former Alabama teammate of McKinney’s, Dallas Cowboys cornerback Trevon Diggs. Diggs started the 2021 NFL season with at least one interception in each of the first six games. Brian Russell of the Minnesota Vikings in 2003 and Barry Wilburn with the Washington Redskins in 1987 also opened the season with an interception in six straight games.
Lemar Parrish of the Cincinnati Bengals started the 1979 season with an interception in five straight games.
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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.
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