Our NFL Team Rankings are based solely on the The Trench Counter, which is an objective formula measuring average yards per pass and run on both offense and defense, along with first downs registered and given up, turnovers for and against, and total penalty yards.

Over time, The Trench Counter rankings begin to closely resemble the standings but goes even further to determine which teams are truly the best when on the line of scrimmage.

We are also including the Bill Parcells/Michael Lombardi stat that we modified called Total Rushes/Completions, which is listed as the second set of rankings below.

The chief aim of the Trench Counter is to take the subjective out of the equation and even the somewhat fluky nature of teams actually scoring points, which is of course the whole point on a game-by-game basis.

Despite a slow start, the Carolina Panthers have moved up to No. 6 in the Trench Counter rankings as they appear primed for a strong second half of the season to test the New Orleans Saints for the NFC South.

The Washington Redskins are also a noteworthy team as they had a +6.8 Trench Counter in their loss to the Dallas Cowboys. The Redskins played well at the line of scrimmage but had several special teams lapses.

Trench Counter (TC) Rankings

1. Seattle Seahawks: 10.2
2. Denver Broncos: 6.3
3. Kansas City Chiefs: 5.7
4. Indianapolis Colts: 5.4
5. Philadelphia Eagles: 5.0
6. Carolina Panthers: 4.6
7. Green Bay Packers: 4.5
8. New Orleans Saints: 4.0
9. New England Patriots: 3.5
10. Chicago Bears: 3.1
11. San Francisco 49ers: 1.9
12. Cleveland Browns: 1.1
13. Dallas Cowboys: 0.8
14. Tennessee Titans: -0.1
15. Arizona Cardinals: -0.1
16. Cincinnati Bengals: -0.7
17. San Diego Chargers: -0.7
18. Buffalo Bills: -0.9
19. New York Jets: -0.9
20. Houston Texans: -1.0
21. Baltimore Ravens: -1.3
22. Washington Redskins: -1.8
23. Oakland Raiders: -1.8
24. Detroit Lions: -2.0
25. Miami Dolphins: -2.4
26. Atlanta Falcons: -2.7
27. Pittsburgh Steelers: -3.1
28. Minnesota Vikings: -3.5
29. St. Louis Rams: -3.8
30. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: -7.6
31. New York Giants: -9.5
32. Jacksonville Jaguars: -14.2

Total Rushes/Completions (TRC) Rankings

1. Houston Texans: 14.5
2. Denver Broncos: 12.5
3. New Orleans Saints: 8.3
4. Seattle Seahawks: 7.5
5. San Diego Chargers: 7.2
6. Kansas City Chiefs: 6.5
7. Cincinnati Bengals: 5.3
8. Carolina Panthers: 4.6
9. Green Bay Packers: 4.0
10. New England Patriots: 3.5
11. Atlanta Falcons: 3.4
12. Detroit Lions: 3.0
13. Baltimore Ravens: 1.8
14. Indianapolis Colts: 0.7
15. Tennessee Titans: 0.3
16. Chicago Bears: 0.0
17. Buffalo Bills: 0.0
18. San Francisco 49ers: -1.2
19. New York Jets: -1.3
20. Washington Redskins: -1.4
21. Philadelphia Eagles: -2.2
22. Pittsburgh Steelers: -2.8
23. Oakland Raiders: -4.0
24. Cleveland Browns: -4.8
25. Arizona Cardinals: -5.0
26. Dallas Cowboys: -5.2
27. St. Louis Rams: -5.5
28. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: -5.6
29. Miami Dolphins: -9.6
30. Minnesota Vikings: -9.6
31. Jacksonville Jaguars: -10.3
32. New York Giants: -17.5