Our NFL Team Rankings are based entirely 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.

With another underwhelming performance and close finish, the Seattle Seahawks' Trench Counter average has fallen from 7.1 to 6.5, while the Carolina Panthers fattened up this past Sunday on the Atlanta Falcons.

The San Francisco 49ers and Denver Broncos hold steady at 5.8 and 4.8 during their buy, while the New England Patriots' blowout win of the Pittsburgh Steelers jumped them up from 2.2 to 4.8.

Trench Counter (TC) Rankings

1. Carolina Panthers: 7.5
2. Seattle Seahawks: 6.5
3. San Francisco 49ers: 5.8
4. Denver Broncos: 4.8
5. New England Patriots: 4.8
6. Green Bay Packers: 4.7
7. Indianapolis Colts: 4.5
8. Kansas City Chiefs: 4.1
9. Philadelphia Eagles: 4.1
10. New Orleans Saints: 4.1
11. Chicago Bears: 2.2
12. Cincinnati Bengals: 1.5
13. Dallas Cowboys: -0.2
14. San Diego Chargers: -0.3
15. Atlanta Falcons: -0.4
16. Houston Texans: -0.5
17. Washington Redskins: -0.5
18. Tennessee Titans: -0.9
19. Cleveland Browns: -1.0
20. Miami Dolphins: -1.2
21. New York Jets: -1.2
22. Detroit Lions: -1.5
23. Buffalo Bills: -1.6
24. Baltimore Ravens: -2.2
25. Minnesota Vikings: -2.9
26. Arizona Cardinals: -3.7
27. Oakland Raiders: -3.7
28. St. Louis Rams: -4.0
29. Pittsburgh Steelers: -4.4
30. New York Giants: -5.7
31. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: -5.7
32. Jacksonville Jaguars: -14.6

Total Rushes/Completions (TRC) Rankings

1. Houston Texans: 11.5
2. Denver Broncos: 8.8
3. Carolina Panthers: 6.8
4. Green Bay Packers: 6.6
5. New Orleans Saints: 6.6
6. Detroit Lions: 6.4
7. Kansas City Chiefs: 6.3
8. San Diego Chargers: 5.9
9. Cincinnati Bengals: 3.9
10. Buffalo Bills: 2.9
11. New York Jets: 2.7
12. Washington Redskins: 2.1
13. Seattle Seahawks: 2.0
14. Baltimore Ravens: 1.0
15. San Francisco 49ers: 0.5
16. Indianapolis Colts: 0.5
17. New England Patriots: 0.1
18. Chicago Bears: -1.0
19. St. Louis Rams: -1.2
20. Oakland Raiders: -1.3
21. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: -2.0
22. Tennessee Titans: -2.3
23. Atlanta Falcons: -2.5
24. Arizona Cardinals: -3.4
25. Pittsburgh Steelers: -3.5
26. Philadelphia Eagles: -5.6
27. Cleveland Browns: -5.8
28. Dallas Cowboys: -6.1
29. New York Giants: -8.8
30. Miami Dolphins: -9.9
31. Jacksonville Jaguars: -9.9
32. Minnesota Vikings: -11.4