For what seems like football eternity, we’ve defined turnovers in two ways: fumbles and interceptions.
Those are the truest forms of giveaways, essentially delivering the ball to the opponent, but they’re not the only ones. So why haven’t we expanded our definition of the turnover term sooner? Why aren't we counting all forms of giving the ball up? Right now, that tried-and-true definition simply isn’t complete enough when looking at the big picture of football.
So let’s say we change that. Fumbles and turnovers are half of the equation. The other side of the coin: missed field-goal attempts and failed fourth-down attempts.