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 just one week remaining in the 2013 regular season, the second ranked team still needs to win in Week 17 to even qualify for the playoffs. The Philadelphia Eagles have been enigmatic with several blowout wins, yet also losing 48-30 in Week 15 to the Minnesota Vikings. The Eagles have won six of seven and appear to be the one team outside of the NFC West and NFC South that can play spoiler in the playoffs.

The New England Patriots have a slight edge in the Trench Counter for AFC supremacy, even though it is likely that the Denver Broncos end up with homefield advantage in the playoffs.

Trench Counter (TC) Rankings

1. Seattle Seahawks: 7.7
2. Philadelphia Eagles: 7.1
3. Carolina Panthers: 5.5
4. San Francisco 49ers: 5.5
5. New England Patriots: 4.9
6. Denver Broncos: 4.3
7. Kansas City Chiefs: 3.7
8. New Orleans Saints: 2.9
9. Indianapolis Colts: 2.2
10. Cincinnati Bengals: 1.9
11. San Diego Chargers: 1.4
12. Arizona Cardinals: 1.1
13. Buffalo Bills: 0.8
14. Green Bay Packers: 0.2
15. St. Louis Rams: -0.3
16. Pittsburgh Steelers: -0.4
17. Chicago Bears: -0.7
18. Baltimore Ravens: -1.2
19. Miami Dolphins: -1.6
20. Detroit Lions: -1.7
21. Tennessee Titans: -1.9
22. Dallas Cowboys: -2.0
23. Cleveland Browns: -2.1
24. Atlanta Falcons: -2.3
25. Minnesota Vikings: -2.8
26. Washington Redskins: -3.0
27. New York Jets: -3.3
28. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: -3.5
29. New York Giants: -4.3
30. Oakland Raiders: -5.0
31. Houston Texans: -5.1
32. Jacksonville Jaguars: -8.0

Total Rushes/Completions (TRC) Rankings

1. New Orleans Saints: 8.5
2. Detroit Lions: 8.1
3. San Diego Chargers: 7.9
4. Carolina Panthers: 7.7
5. Denver Broncos: 6.8
6. Seattle Seahawks: 4.3
7. Arizona Cardinals: 3.4
8. Baltimore Ravens: 2.9
9. Washington Redskins: 2.9
10. Houston Texans: 2.5
11. Green Bay Packers: 1.8
12. New England Patriots: 1.7
13. Cincinnati Bengals: 1.6
14. Kansas City Chiefs: 1.5
15. Buffalo Bills: 1.4
16. Tennessee Titans: 0.4
17. Chicago Bears: -0.9
18. Pittsburgh Steelers: -0.9
19. San Francisco 49ers: -1.1
20. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: -2.0
21. Indianapolis Colts: -2.2
22. Oakland Raiders: -2.4
23. Atlanta Falcons: -2.5
24. St. Louis Rams: -3.7
25. New York Jets: -4.1
26. Philadelphia Eagles: -5.3
27. New York Giants: -5.4
28. Cleveland Browns: -5.9
29. Miami Dolphins: -6.1
30. Jacksonville Jaguars: -6.2
31. Minnesota Vikings: -6.7
32. Dallas Cowboys: -7.3