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How to Calculate Turnover Margin and Turnover Ratio in the NFL

Turnovers in football are when the team in control of the ball, the offense, gives control of the ball to the other team, the defence, via interception or fumble. The impact of multiple turnovers in a game is significant, and a good measure of a team's success is the number of turnovers it commits versus the number it forces. This difference is expressed as a turnover ratio or turnover margin, two expressions which mean the same thing.

Instructions

- 1
  Count the number of interceptions thrown by your team. An interception counts as any time an offensive player on a team -- typically a quarterback, though it can be any non-offensive lineman behind the line of scrimmage -- throws the ball and it is caught by a member of the defense. Interceptions can occur even when there is no time on the clock, so long as the play started prior to time expiring.
- 2
  Count the number of fumbles by your team. A fumble occurs when an offensive player has full possession of the ball and is carrying it in the field of play, loses control of it, and it is recovered by the opposing team. If a fumble goes out of bounds before the defense takes possession of it, the offense retains possession and it is not a turnover. If a fumble is recovered by the defense in the end zone of the offensive player, it is a turnover and an immediate touchdown for the defensive team. If a defensive player gains control of the ball either by interception or fumble and then fumbles the ball back to the offense, it counts as a fumble and a turnover by both teams on the same play.
- 3
  Ignore any "turnovers on downs." This occurs when a team fails to achieve the 10 yards needed to be awarded a first down, which each team must do within four plays. When this occurs, the offensive team, in a sense, turns the ball over to the other team, whose offensive team then takes the field and possession of the ball. Though a turnover in name, it does not count in the official turnover statistics.
- 4
  Count the opposing team's fumbles and interceptions. Using the same concepts when calculating your own team's turnovers, determine the total number of turnovers for the other team.
- 5
  Compare the two numbers. The turnover margin/turnover ratio is simply the relation of the total turnovers for each team. If your team committed one turnover and the other team committed three, your turnover margin would be "plus two" because your team forced two more turnovers than it gave up. If your team commits 30 offensive turnovers over the course of the season and the defense forces only 20, the margin/ratio would be "minus 10." As shown at NFL.com's statistics by team category, the teams with the highest turnover margins are the teams who have the best win-loss records.

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