Buffalo Bills' Seven Turnovers A Rare Franchise Feat

The Buffalo Bills gave up seven turnovers in yesterday's pathetic loss to the New England Patriots. That's a feat the team hasn't accomplished very often in franchise history.

Since 2000, the Bills are the 15th team in the NFL to record seven turnovers in a game. The Tennessee Titans forfeited seven earlier this year in a loss to Pittsburgh. The Miami Dolphins turned the ball over seven times against the Bills in 2004, a game Buffalo won 42-32.

One of the teams already on that list was the 2003 Bills, who gave up seven turnovers in a 38-5 blowout loss to Kansas City. That was the last time the Bills gave up seven.

Speaking of the Bills, they have coughed up the ball seven or more times in 12 games in franchise history. Four were in the first decade, and two more happened two weeks apart in 1987. The second of those two turnover fests was the Bills' last win in a seven-turnover game, when they defeated the New York Giants 6-3 in overtime despite a -5 turnover ratio.

The other Bills win in a seven-turnover game was the immortal victory over the Miami Dolphins to end the streak in 1980. Luckily, Miami turned the ball over six times themselves, and Buffalo won.

The last team to win a game in which they gave up seven turnovers were the 2000 Tennesee Titans. Despite losing the turnover battle by six, they stomped the Cleveland Browns 24-10 thanks to three Eddie George touchdown runs.

Turnover margin is a little more important than the number of turnovers. The last team to have a -7 turnover margin were the 2003 Bills mentioned above. The Bills are the only franchise to have a -7 turnover day since 1997, and now they've done it twice.

The last team to give up seven more turnovers than it allowed and still win the game was the 1983 Pittsburgh Steelers, who overcame three interceptions and four fumbles with 17 fourth-quarter points to beat 0-7 Tampa Bay. It's the only such win since the AFL-NFL merger.