Byard Adds to Interception Haul

Two picks against Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott on Thursday moved the safety into a tie for fourth place on the franchise's career list.

George Walker IV / Tennessean.com / USA Today Network

NASHVILLE – Kevin Byard did not take a night off.

Instead, he picked off a couple of Dak Prescott passes and gave the Tennessee Titans hope in a prime-time matchup with the heavily favored Dallas Cowboys on Thursday.

It was the fourth time in his career that the veteran safety came away with multiple interceptions in a single contest. It was not enough, though, to overcome personnel shortages throughout the lineup and the Titans fell 27-13 at Nissan Stadium.

A third-round draft pick in 2016, is now tied for fourth in franchise history with 27 interceptions, the most by any Titans/Oilers player since cornerback Darryl Lewis racked up the same number from 1991-98 in the exact same number of games Byard has played to date (113).

A rundown of the Tennessee Titans/Houston Oilers career interception leaders (through Thursday):

 

Player	Years	INTs
Jim Norton	1960-68	45
Cris Dishman	1988-96	31
Fred Glick	1961-66	30
Tony Banfield	1960-65	27
W.K. Hicks	1964-69	27
Darryll Lewis	1991-98	27
Kevin Byard	2016-22	27

"I felt like where we were ... that he was going to play," coach Mike Vrabel said. "He wanted to play. That was the plan. He played. He took advantage of his opportunities when the ball came his way, whether it was deflected, tipped, or whatever."

Byard now has four interceptions on the season and is in position to lead the team in that regard for the fifth time in six years. Linebacker David Long – with two – is the only member of the defense with more than one but is on injured reserve and won’t play next week against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Only seven players across the NFL have more.

Byard’s first against Dallas came with 3:38 to play in the second quarter when tight end Peyton Hendershot failed to handle a pass cleanly and juggled the ball right into Byard’s arms. The offense converted that takeaway into three points – Tennessee’s first points of the night – with Randy Bullock’s 37-yard field goal with 1:08 remaining before halftime.

The second came a little more than three minutes later. Byard jumped the route, took away a throw intended for tight end Dalton Schultz and thwarted Dallas’ attempt to add to its seven-point lead before intermission. Byard’s 28-yard return and a 30-yard catch-and-run by wide receiver Treylon Burks set up another Bullock field goal, this one from 29 yards as time expired on the second quarter.

It marked the third time this season the Titans had multiple interceptions in a game.

All of that happened on a night when the outcome had no bearing on Tennessee’s playoff chances. As a result, several notable players were held out of the action when they might otherwise have played. That group included running back Derrick Henry, defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons and outside linebacker Denico Autry.

Byard never has missed a game in his NFL career. And he certainly was not missing in action in this one.

"It's still disappointing we didn’t get the win," Byard said. "We went into this game to get the win, trying to win this game. You obviously saw with the effort that we played with, so we're disappointed. But I can guarantee you this, I'm going to make sure that everybody, and we're going to have a couple of days off, but (has) the mind mentally, physically, get prepared to go win a playoff game. That's pretty much what it is, a playoff game. You win, you keep playing. You lose, we all go home."