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.

Percy Harvin made his debut for the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday, giving the best team in the NFL another excellent weapon.

The New Orleans Saints and Carolina Panthers each won in the final seconds, though the Panthers had just a +1.5 Trench Counter against the New England Patriots, compared to +7.2 for Drew Brees and the Saints against the San Francisco 49ers.

The Trench Counter liked the Kansas City Chiefs more than the Denver Broncos despite the final outcome of their Sunday Night game, which should setup an interesting narrative for the rematch at Arrowhead.

Meanwhile, the New England Patriots have a higher Trench Counter for the season but are home underdogs this week agains the Broncos.

Trench Counter (TC) Rankings

1. Seattle Seahawks: 7.6
2. New Orleans Saints: 6.8
3. Carolina Panthers: 6.7
4. Philadelphia Eagles: 5.0
5. New England Patriots: 4.2
6. Denver Broncos: 4.1
7. Kansas City Chiefs: 3.9
8. San Francisco 49ers: 3.4
9. Green Bay Packers: 2.3
10. Indianapolis Colts: 1.3
11. Chicago Bears: 1.1
12. Cincinnati Bengals: 0.9
13. Cleveland Browns: -0.6
14. San Diego Chargers: -0.8
15. Tennessee Titans: -0.8
16. Detroit Lions: -1.1
17. Houston Texans: -1.1
18. Buffalo Bills: -1.1
19. Washington Redskins: -1.2
20. Arizona Cardinals: -1.3
21. St. Louis Rams: -1.5
22. Miami Dolphins: -1.8
23. Baltimore Ravens: -1.8
24. Atlanta Falcons: -1.9
25. New York Jets: -1.9
26. Pittsburgh Steelers: -2.4
27. Dallas Cowboys: -3.0
28. Minnesota Vikings: -3.2
29. New York Giants: -3.4
30. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: -3.6
31. Oakland Raiders: -3.6
32. Jacksonville Jaguars: -12.6

Total Rushes/Completions (TRC) Rankings

1. New Orleans Saints: 11.3
2. Houston Texans: 8.3
3. Denver Broncos: 7.7
4. San Diego Chargers: 6.1
5. Green Bay Packers: 5.8
6. Carolina Panthers: 5.3
7. Kansas City Chiefs: 4.3
8. Buffalo Bills: 4.2
9. Washington Redskins: 3.7
10. Detroit Lions: 3.6
11. Cincinnati Bengals: 3.5
12. Seattle Seahawks: 2.8
13. Baltimore Ravens: 1.6
14. New England Patriots: 1.3
15. Indianapolis Colts: 1.2
16. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 0.5
17. New York Jets: 0.1
18. Pittsburgh Steelers: -0.9
19. Arizona Cardinals: -1.0
20. St. Louis Rams: -1.0
21. Chicago Bears: -1.8
22. Tennessee Titans: -1.8
23. San Francisco 49ers: -2.1
24. Oakland Raiders: -2.1
25. Cleveland Browns: -5.1
26. New York Giants: -5.1
27. Atlanta Falcons: -5.6
28. Philadelphia Eagles: -5.9
29. Miami Dolphins: -9.3
30. Minnesota Vikings: -9.7
31. Jacksonville Jaguars: -9.9
32. Dallas Cowboys: -10.1