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 their impressive win over the Oakland Raiders, the Kansas City Chiefs climbed to fifth overall and are now the highest rated team in the AFC in the Trench Counter.

Trench Counter (TC) Rankings

1. Seattle Seahawks: 8.8
2. Philadelphia Eagles: 5.9
3. Carolina Panthers: 5.8
4. San Francisco 49ers: 5.1
5. Kansas City Chiefs: 4.6
6. New England Patriots: 4.2
7. New Orleans Saints: 3.2
8. Denver Broncos: 3.0
9. Indianapolis Colts: 1.6
10. Chicago Bears: 1.0
11. Cincinnati Bengals: 0.9
12. Arizona Cardinals: 0.8
13. San Diego Chargers: 0.7
14. Green Bay Packers: 0.5
15. Miami Dolphins: 0.0
16. Baltimore Ravens: -0.3
17. St. Louis Rams: -0.6
18. Pittsburgh Steelers: -0.6
19. Buffalo Bills: -0.9
20. Cleveland Browns: -1.6
21. Atlanta Falcons: -1.7
22. Minnesota Vikings: -1.9
23. Detroit Lions: -1.9
24. Dallas Cowboys: -2.4
25. Tennessee Titans: -2.5
26. Washington Redskins: -3.0
27. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: -3.5
28. Houston Texans: -3.9
29. New York Jets: -4.2
30. New York Giants: -4.5
31. Oakland Raiders: -4.7
32. Jacksonville Jaguars: -8.1

Total Rushes/Completions (TRC) Rankings

1. San Diego Chargers: 7.5
2. New Orleans Saints: 7.3
3. Denver Broncos: 7.1
4. Carolina Panthers: 5.8
5. Detroit Lions: 5.6
6. Seattle Seahawks: 4.2
7. Houston Texans: 4.1
8. Cincinnati Bengals: 3.8
9. Kansas City Chiefs: 2.8
10. Baltimore Ravens: 2.6
11. Buffalo Bills: 2.6
12. Green Bay Packers: 2.6
13. New England Patriots: 2.2
14. Arizona Cardinals: 1.9
15. San Francisco 49ers: 1.9
16. Washington Redskins: 1.9
17. Chicago Bears: 1.5
18. Pittsburgh Steelers: 0.7
19. Tennessee Titans: -1.6
20. Indianapolis Colts: -2.1
21. Oakland Raiders: -2.9
22. New York Jets: -3.2
23. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: -3.5
24. Atlanta Falcons: -4.1
25. Philadelphia Eagles: -4.3
26. St. Louis Rams: -5.1
27. Cleveland Browns: -5.3
28. Miami Dolphins: -5.4
29. Minnesota Vikings: -5.4
30. New York Giants: -6.9
31. Jacksonville Jaguars: -7.8
32. Dallas Cowboys: -8.4