Titans safety Kevin Byard tied Lions cornerback Darius Slay for the league lead in interceptions in 2017 thanks to his work in the final week of the regular season.
Byard intercepted Jaguars quarterback Blake Bortles twice in Tennessee’s 15-10 win in Week 17. That left him with eight on the season and the timing of those final two picks also made him the choice as the AFC’s final defensive player of the week for the 2017 season.
Byard’s first interception came in Tennessee territory with the Titans up 15-3 early in the fourth quarter. The Jaguars were able to cut the lead to five points on a Yannick Ngakoue fumble return touchdown, but any hopes of a comeback win were snuffed out once and for all on Byard’s second interception with 10 seconds left in the game.
Byard, who didn’t have any interceptions as a rookie in 2016, will try for the same kind of impact against the Chiefs in this Saturday’s Wild Card game.
