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. 

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.

The Cardinals, Panthers, Seahawks and Steelers finished the 2015 season ranked as the top-4 in Trench Counter.

Week 5 Rankings

1. Denver Broncos: 7.0
2. Green Bay Packers: 6.7
3. Arizona Cardinals: 6.5
4. Philadelphia Eagles: 6.0
5. Atlanta Falcons: 5.9
6. Tennessee Titans: 5.0
7. Baltimore Ravens: 5.0
8. Dallas Cowboys: 4.5
9. Minnesota Vikings: 4.2
10. New England Patriots: 2.9
11. Seattle Seahawks: 2.9
12. Cincinnati Bengals: 2.6
13. Chicago Bears: 1.0
14. Washington: 0.9
15. San Diego Chargers: 0.9
16. Buffalo Bills: 0.2
17. San Francisco 49ers: -0.4
18. Pittsburgh Steelers: -0.5
19. Oakland Raiders: -1.9
20. New Orleans Saints: -2.1
21. Kansas City Chiefs: -2.3
22. Carolina Panthers: -2.5
23. New York Giants: -2.8
24. Houston Texans: -3.1
25. Indianapolis Colts: -3.2
26. Cleveland Browns: -4.2
27. Detroit Lions: -4.5
28. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: -5.7
29. New York Jets: -6.0
30. Los Angeles Rams: -6.3
31. Jacksonville Jaguars: -7.3
32. Miami Dolphins: -8.5