Teams are doing a better job taking care of the football nowadays. More accurately, rules changes that are taking helmet-to-helmet and defenseless-receiver hits out of the game are causing few turnovers.
However you slice it, turnovers are down.
In this century, 90 teams have turned the ball over 34-plus times in a season. It didn’t happen at all last year. (Dallas and Tennessee were the high-water teams, with 33 turnovers each.)
Seven other teams, meanwhile, turned it over only 14-17 times. In the 16 seasons of this century, we’ve seen 17 or fewer turnovers 35 other times – about twice per year. But it’s happened five and seven times the last two years.
FEWEST TURNOVERS (since 2002) | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Year | Team | Int | Fum | TO |
2011 | San Francisco | 5 | 5 | 10 |
2010 | New England | 5 | 5 | 10 |
2014 | Green Bay | 6 | 7 | 13 |
2014 | New England | 9 | 4 | 13 |
2008 | Miami | 7 | 6 | 13 |
2008 | NY Giants | 10 | 3 | 13 |
2015 | New England | 7 | 7 | 14 |
2014 | Seattle | 7 | 7 | 14 |
2013 | Indianapolis | 10 | 4 | 14 |
2012 | Washington | 8 | 6 | 14 |
2011 | Green Bay | 8 | 6 | 14 |
2010 | Kansas City | 8 | 6 | 14 |
2015 | Kansas City | 7 | 8 | 15 |
2007 | New England | 9 | 6 | 15 |
2006 | San Diego | 9 | 6 | 15 |
2002 | Jacksonville | 9 | 6 | 15 |
2002 | Kansas City | 13 | 2 | 15 |
2015 | Seattle | 8 | 8 | 16 |
2012 | Baltimore | 11 | 5 | 16 |
2012 | Green Bay | 8 | 8 | 16 |
2012 | New England | 9 | 7 | 16 |
2012 | San Francisco | 8 | 8 | 16 |
2009 | Green Bay | 8 | 8 | 16 |
2005 | Denver | 7 | 9 | 16 |
2004 | NY Jets | 11 | 5 | 16 |
2015 | Cincinnati | 9 | 8 | 17 |
2015 | Green Bay | 8 | 9 | 17 |
2015 | Minnesota | 9 | 8 | 17 |
2015 | San Francisco | 12 | 5 | 17 |
2014 | Arizona | 12 | 5 | 17 |
2014 | Kansas City | 6 | 11 | 17 |
2012 | Houston | 13 | 4 | 17 |
2011 | New England | 12 | 5 | 17 |
2010 | Atlanta | 9 | 8 | 17 |
2009 | San Diego | 10 | 7 | 17 |
2008 | Indianapolis | 12 | 5 | 17 |
2008 | Tennessee | 9 | 8 | 17 |
2006 | Washington | 10 | 7 | 17 |
2005 | Jacksonville | 6 | 11 | 17 |
2005 | Seattle | 10 | 7 | 17 |
2004 | Indianapolis | 10 | 7 | 17 |
2002 | San Francisco | 10 | 7 | 17 |
—Ian Allan