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.

Despite an impressive road win at the San Francisco 49ers by the Carolina Panthers, they were unable to hold onto the top slot due to the Seattle Seahawks' very convincing defeat of the Atlanta Falcons. The Trench Counter identified the Panthers early on in the season as a strong team and that has clearly been proven over the past few weeks.

The New Orleans Saints climbed from No. 10 to No. 3 due to their lopsided win over the Dallas Cowboys in which they had a +28.4 edge.

The Philadelphia Eagles have been the favorite of the Trench Counter for the NFC East for several weeks and should be considered the favorite to take the division if Nick Foles remains healthy.

Trench Counter (TC) Rankings

1. Seattle Seahawks: 7.3
2. Carolina Panthers: 7.2
3. New Orleans Saints: 6.8
4. Philadelphia Eagles: 4.8
5. New England Patriots: 4.8
6. Denver Broncos: 4.7
7. San Francisco 49ers: 4.6
8. Kansas City Chiefs: 4.1
9. Green Bay Packers: 2.9
10. Indianapolis Colts: 1.6
11. Cincinnati Bengals: 1.4
12. Chicago Bears: 1.1
13. Detroit Lions: -0.5
14. Washington Redskins: -0.5
15. San Diego Chargers: -0.7
16. Houston Texans: -1.0
17. Cleveland Browns: -1.0
18. Tennessee Titans: -1.1
19. New York Jets: -1.2
20. St. Louis Rams: -1.5
21. Baltimore Ravens: -2.0
22. Atlanta Falcons: -2.0
23. Buffalo Bills: -2.1
24. Miami Dolphins: -2.2
25. Minnesota Vikings: -2.5
26. Arizona Cardinals: -2.7
27. Dallas Cowboys: -3.0
28. Pittsburgh Steelers: -3.4
29. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: -4.0
30. New York Giants: -4.1
31. Oakland Raiders: -4.2
32. Jacksonville Jaguars: -12.7

Total Rushes/Completions (TRC) Rankings

1. New Orleans Saints: 11.0
2. Houston Texans: 9.6
3. Carolina Panthers: 7.2
4. Denver Broncos: 7.0
5. Green Bay Packers: 7.0
6. Kansas City Chiefs: 6.3
7. San Diego Chargers: 6.0
8. Detroit Lions: 5.3
9. Seattle Seahawks: 4.0
10. Cincinnati Bengals: 4.0
11. Washington Redskins: 3.6
12. New York Jets: 2.7
13. Buffalo Bills: 2.1
14. Indianapolis Colts: 0.3
15. Baltimore Ravens: 0.3
16. New England Patriots: 0.1
17. Chicago Bears: -0.6
18. San Francisco 49ers: -0.8
19. Tennessee Titans: -1.0
20. St. Louis Rams: -1.0
21. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: -1.0
22. Arizona Cardinals: -2.3
23. Pittsburgh Steelers: -2.3
24. Oakland Raiders: -2.7
25. Atlanta Falcons: -4.7
26. Cleveland Browns: -5.8
27. Philadelphia Eagles: -6.0
28. New York Giants: -6.2
29. Miami Dolphins: -9.6
30. Jacksonville Jaguars: -9.8
31. Dallas Cowboys: -10.1
32. Minnesota Vikings: -11.8