Aside from points allowed, there isn’t a statistic more important to a defense than turnovers, and the Patriots put forth a dominating effort in that department during Sunday’s victory against the Buffalo Bills.

The Pats forced six turnovers in the 52-28 win, and five of those truly belong in the takeaway category. Some turnovers, such as safety Tavon Wilson’s fair catch of Ryan Fitzpatrick’s errant toss late in the fourth quarter, are gifts, but the first five were stolen away from the Bills.

That’s the important part. There’s nothing wrong with finding a little misfortune because of a ball carrier’s sloppy handling or a quarterback’s poor throw. And really, the offense never is absolved of blame when the ball changes sides, but the Pats’ ability to take it away from the Bills was the product of good, aggressive, opportunistic play.

“You’ve got to take advantage of all of them, but that’s one thing you want your defense to always be attentive to, is not just making the tackle or making the play, but trying to get the ball when we can,” coach Bill Belichick said. “I think our players were aware of it, and they made some good decisions and we got the ball. That was great.”

Consider this: The Patriots improved to 4-0 in Belichick’s tenure when they force at least six turnovers, including one seven-takeaway performance. Obviously, that’s the way it should be, but the numbers logically detail the significance of turnovers.

The Patriots are 33-0 under Belichick when they force at least four turnovers in a game, including 19 games with four turnovers and 10 games with five. Then the numbers start to drop a bit. The Pats are 28-2 when they force exactly three turnovers, though the last loss was in 2001. They’re 45-11 when they force exactly two turnovers, including a 1-1 record this season.

Belichick’s Patriots are 41-31 when they have exactly one takeaway, including an 0-1 record this season, and they are 10-17 when no turnovers are forced. Interestingly, in Belichick’s 218 games as coach including the playoffs, the Pats have had at least four takeaways in more games than they’ve had none.

Those records won’t knock anyone off their chair, but the numbers prove that turnovers truly correlate to wins and losses and can make up for any shortcomings a defense might have in allowing yards and big plays.

The Patriots surrendered plenty of real estate in 2010 and ’11, but their 72 takeaways were the most in the NFL during that span. So, too, were their 27 regular-season victories. It’s not limited to the Pats, either. The Green Bay Packers are tied for second with 70 takeaways in the same stretch, and their 25 wins were the second-most in the league. Of the eight teams that forced at least 60 turnovers in 2010-11, seven were ranked no worse than seventh in regular-season wins.

The Patriots are back at it this season with 11 takeaways, which ranked third after Sunday’s action. Clearly, the six-takeaway outburst helped that placement, but the Bills weren’t just handing the Pats the ball the way the San Diego Chargers have done in the past.

Whether it was cornerback Devin McCourty jumping a route or high-pointing a ball, linebacker Brandon Spikes treating running backs like Fiats in a pair of head-on collisions or tackle Vince Wilfork and linebacker Jerod Mayo teaming up to make an early play, the defense was making things happen, rather than letting the ball come to them.

There can still be a fluky element to turnovers, shown by the New York Giants fumbling twice but never losing the ball in the Super Bowl last February, or McCourty’s inability to haul in a few potential interceptions in the Patriots’ first three regular-season games.

Yet Sunday’s performance was a best-case scenario for the defense, and the takeaways helped turn the tide on the outcome.

“Those things kind of went right for us,” Belichick said. “I think if you just keep pressuring the ball, hopefully sooner or later, you’ll get it out.

“Hopefully sooner or later, some of those will come to you. Players have worked hard on that. We’re always conscious of trying to put pressure on the ball, and yesterday was a good day for us.”