Trent McDuffie Shares Story Behind First Career Interception, Reacts to Big Play

It's been a long time coming for Trent McDuffie, who found a unique way to log his first career interception in the Chiefs' Week 15 win over the Browns.

Dec 15, 2024; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Kansas City Chiefs cornerback Trent McDuffie (22) celebrates his interception against the Cleveland Browns in the end zone during the fourth quarter at Huntington Bank Field. Mandatory Credit: Scott Galvin-Imagn Images / Scott Galvin-Imagn Images

While the modern NFL and advancements in statistics have shown that interceptions aren't the sole indicator of good defensive back play, that's still one of the first box score numbers folks will look to. Prior to Week 15, that put Kansas City Chiefs cornerback Trent McDuffie in an interesting position.

Despite generating turnover production in recent years, including five forced fumbles a season ago, McDuffie had yet to notch his first career interception. Even after displaying some of football's best versatility and coverage skills en route to an All-Pro berth, that one pesky box remained unchecked. Luckily for the former first-round pick, he finally cashed in during Kansas City's Sunday triumph over the Cleveland Browns.

Roughly 2,500 snaps into his regular-season career, McDuffie picked off Browns quarterback Jameis Winston in the end zone for a touchback. Winston, one of football's more turnover-prone players, was intercepted three total times on the afternoon.

Ironically, McDuffie's first NFL interception was anything but standard. Taking a quick glance at the big screen at Huntington Bank Field gave him a critical assist.

"Yeah, man, a blessing," McDuffie said of his big-time play. "Coming into this week, I think everybody knew we had a good shot at getting some turnovers. Right place, right time. During the play, I was in man-to-man and the funny thing is, for whatever reason, I glanced up at the jumbotron because it was a scramble drill and just saw him launch it. I was like, 'That's to my side, so let me just turn around.' And I caught the ball!"

.@trent_mcduffie’s 1st career interception was a thing of beauty! ☺️ pic.twitter.com/6Yg3Fg9Urh

— KC Sports Network (@KCSportsNetwork) December 15, 2024

The fourth-quarter snag was on a play that started at the Chiefs' 29-yard line, multiple plays deep in a Cleveland drive that seemed destined for points. Thanks to McDuffie, though, the club's 21-7 lead was preserved and he made a lifelong memory in the process.

"Special," McDuffie said. "A lot of emotions. One, just like, we did it. Finally did it after two-and-a-half years but also, during the time of when I did it. They were driving down the field, they were trying to get back into the game, really, and they were putting together a pretty good drive. Being able to get that pick and kind of stop that momentum, for me, was huge."

Although the Kansas City secondary has struggled in recent weeks, McDuffie is doing just fine. In his first season without L'Jarius Sneed working opposite him at cornerback, the former Washington standout came into Week 15 surrendering 6.2 yards per target with a 6.1% missed tackle rate. Both of those figures are improvements over his 2023-24 production that earned him national recognition. The Chiefs gave the 24-year-old a tall task by requiring him to play primarily on the boundary in year No. 3, yet he's taken that in stride.

McDuffie and his teammates bounced back in a big way after previously struggling to take the ball away in recent weeks. Does anything feel different now that the proverbial monkey is off his back?

Not really. McDuffie was more worried about finding a way to win.

"Honestly, it wasn't really weighing on me for real," McDuffie said. "I'm one of those guys like yeah, you know, I want the picks [and] I want the turnovers but however I can help my team, that was most important. I think that's why I'm so happy. I got the pick, I got the turnover and got the ball back to the offense."

Read More: Four Takeaways from the Kansas City Chiefs 21-7 Win Over the Cleveland Browns