NFL Open Thread: the 30/30 club edition

This blog must duly salute a potentially historic achievement:

No quarterback has even thrown 30 touchdowns and 30 interceptions in the same season in the history of professional football. George Blanda threw 42 picks in 14 games for the 1962 Houston Oilers of the American Football League, and he managed just 27 touchdowns. Vinny Testaverde holds the modern and NFL records with 35 picks in 1988 for the Buccaneers, and he threw just 13 touchdown passes. Of the other quarterbacks in the 30-plus interception club, John Hadl of the 1968 San Diego Chargers (AFL again; this was a thing in this league) had 32 picks to 27 touchdowns. Lynn Dickey of the 1983 Green Bay Packers had 32 touchdown passes and 29 interceptions, leaving us all feeling a bit cheated.

Following his four interceptions in Tampa Bay’s Saturday 23-20 loss to the Texans, Jameis Winston is now very much on pace to become the first guy to do it. Winston already had the 30 touchdown passes, adding one more on Saturday, and he’s now up to 28 picks on the season. Just two more against the Falcons in the season finale, and Winston will make a very odd brand of pro football history.

I was on a flight yesterday that left the gate as the Bucs/Texans game was starting, and Winston had already thrown 2 picks before the plane left the tarmac. He’s a special talent. The Bucs are planning to bring him back in 2020, which should work out exactly as well as the previous years did.

True fact: Winston threw 18 picks in 13 games in his last year in college. That he went first overall anyway is an excellent illustration of how resistant narratives can be to new data.