Amani Hooker’s three interceptions give him the NFL lead alone at five after Week 8, and T.J. Watt ties Will Anderson Jr. for the sack lead

Amani Hooker leads the NFL in interceptions alone after Week 8. The Tennessee Titans safety picked off Joe Burrow three times in Sunday’s 43–36 overtime loss at Cincinnati and now has five, two more than anyone else. Before Sunday no player had more than two interceptions in a game this season.

The tie at the top is over. Six players had shared the lead at three after each of Weeks 5, 6 and 7, and none of them added a pick in Week 8. Hooker went from two to five in one afternoon, and three more players joined the group at three: Tampa Bay linebacker Alex Anzalone, Cleveland cornerback Denzel Ward and Rams safety Quentin Lake.

The sack race changed too. Pittsburgh’s T.J. Watt had two sacks in the 27–6 win over Cleveland and is tied with Houston’s Will Anderson Jr. for the lead at 7.5. The numbers are through Sunday of Week 8; Chicago at Seattle on Monday night (Tuesday 03:15 Cairo time) is still to be played, and none of the players in the two leader tables below plays in that game.

Interception leaders after Week 8

Rank	Player	Team	Pos	G	INT	Ret yds	Weeks with an INT	Week 8	Week 9 (Cairo time)
1	Amani Hooker	TEN	S	7	5	114	W2, W6, W8 (3)	3	Bye
T-2	Alex Anzalone	TB	LB	8	3	20	W5, W8 (2)	2	at Chicago, Mon 03:20
T-2	Denzel Ward	CLE	CB	8	3	0	W4, W7, W8	1	at New Orleans, Sun 20:00
T-2	Byron Murphy Jr.	MIN	CB	7	3	13	W2, W5 (2)	0	vs. Buffalo, Tue 03:15
T-2	Xavier McKinney	GB	S	8	3	8	W3, W5 (2)	0	at New England, Sun 23:25
T-2	Quentin Lake	LAR	S	8	3	45	W1, W6, W8	1	at Washington, Sun 20:00
T-2	Jevon Holland	NYG	S	6	3	0	W1, W2, W3	Bye	at Philadelphia, Sun 20:00
T-2	Renardo Green	SF	CB	7	3	2	W1, W5 (2)	Bye	vs. Las Vegas, Sun 23:25
T-2	Jordan Battle	CIN	S	7	3	18	W3, W5 (2)	0	vs. Atlanta, Sun 16:30
T-2	Hezekiah Masses	LV	CB	8	3	67	W2 (2), W3	0	at San Francisco, Sun 23:25

Hooker’s three interceptions came on 22 return yards, and Burrow still threw for 462 yards and five touchdowns as the Bengals won in overtime. Hooker also had one in Week 2 and a 92-yard return in Week 6, the longest return among the top 10. He has five interceptions in seven games; the Titans are 1–7.

Anzalone had two of Tampa Bay’s four interceptions in the 16–0 shutout of Atlanta, the only other multi-interception game of the week. Ward got his third in the loss at Pittsburgh, and Lake got his in the Rams’ 24–9 win over the Chargers. Twenty-two players have two.

The six players who shared the lead after Week 7, Jordan Battle, Renardo Green, Jevon Holland, Hezekiah Masses, Xavier McKinney and Byron Murphy Jr., have not had an interception since Week 5. There have been 60 interceptions league-wide in Weeks 6 to 8.

Sack leaders after Week 8

Rank	Player	Team	Pos	G	Sacks	Week 8	Week 8 result	Week 9 (Cairo time)
T-1	T.J. Watt	PIT	LB	8	7.5	2.0	W 27–6 vs. CLE	Bye
T-1	Will Anderson Jr.	HOU	DE	7	7.5	Bye	Bye	at LA Chargers, Sun 23:05
T-3	Chase Young	NO	DE	7	7.0	Bye	Bye	vs. Cleveland, Sun 20:00
T-3	Greg Rousseau	BUF	LB	7	7.0	1.0	W 36–10 vs. BAL	at Minnesota, Tue 03:15
T-5	Andrew Van Ginkel	MIN	LB	7	6.5	2.5	L 19–15 at DET	vs. Buffalo, Tue 03:15
T-5	Jacob Martin	TEN	DE	8	6.5	3.0	L 43–36 OT at CIN	Bye
T-7	Dallas Turner	MIN	LB	7	6.0	0.0	L 19–15 at DET	vs. Buffalo, Tue 03:15
T-7	Elijah Ponder	NE	LB	8	6.0	0.5	W 24–19 at MIA	vs. Green Bay, Sun 23:25
T-9	Carl Granderson	NO	DE	6	5.5	Bye	Bye	vs. Cleveland, Sun 20:00
T-9	Boye Mafe	CIN	DE	7	5.5	1.0	W 43–36 OT vs. TEN	vs. Atlanta, Sun 16:30
T-9	David Bailey	NYJ	LB	7	5.5	0.0	L 38–33 vs. LV	at Kansas City, Sun 20:00

Watt had 5.5 sacks after Week 7 and was tied for fifth. Anderson did not play in Week 8 because Houston had a bye, and neither did New Orleans’ Chase Young, who stays at 7.0. Buffalo’s Greg Rousseau added one sack in the 36–10 win over Baltimore and is level with Young, half a sack behind the leaders.

Tennessee’s Jacob Martin had three sacks of Burrow in the same game as Hooker’s three interceptions, and moved from 3.5 to 6.5. It is the fifth three-sack game of the season and nobody has had more than three in a game. Minnesota’s Andrew Van Ginkel had 2.5 sacks in the 19–15 loss at Detroit and is also at 6.5; his teammate Dallas Turner had none and stays at 6.0.

Interceptions by week

Week	Games	INT	Per game
1	16	22	1.38
2	16	19	1.19
3	16	25	1.56
4	16	25	1.56
5	15	18	1.20
6	14	21	1.50
7	14	16	1.14
8 (through Sunday)	13	23	1.77
Season	120	169	1.41

Week 8 had 23 interceptions in 13 games, the most in a week since Weeks 3 and 4 had 25 each, and 1.77 per game is the highest rate of any week this season. Week 7 had 16, the fewest of the season.

Team interception leaders

Rank	Team	G	INT	Team leader
1	Tampa Bay	8	12	Alex Anzalone 3
2	Green Bay	8	10	Xavier McKinney 3
3	Jacksonville	7	9	Travis Hunter, Jourdan Lewis, Foyesade Oluokun 2 each
T-4	Minnesota	7	8	Byron Murphy Jr. 3
T-4	Seattle	7	8	Julian Love, Nehemiah Pritchett 2 each
T-4	Tennessee	8	8	Amani Hooker 5

Tampa Bay’s four interceptions against Atlanta moved the Buccaneers to 12, two more than Green Bay. Hooker has five of Tennessee’s eight. At the other end, the New York Jets still have one interception in eight games, and Indianapolis has two.

What Week 9 can change

Tennessee and Pittsburgh both have a bye in Week 9, so Hooker and Watt cannot add to their totals. Anderson and the Texans play at the Chargers on Sunday at 23:05 Cairo time, and Young’s Saints host Cleveland at 20:00, so Anderson can take the lead alone with half a sack and Young needs one to pass both. Rousseau and Buffalo play at Minnesota on Monday night, which is Tuesday 03:15 in Cairo, against Van Ginkel and Turner.

Anzalone, Ward and Lake can each get within one of Hooker. Tampa Bay plays at Chicago on Sunday night (Monday 03:20 Cairo time), Ward’s Browns visit New Orleans and Lake’s Rams visit Washington, both at 20:00.