The scoreboard is where games are officially won and lost, but they are largely decided by the team that wins the battles of yards per pass, yards per carry, penalty yards lost, first downs, and turnovers. For this reason, I created the following formula called the ?Trench Counter? to look at which team truly controls the game: (2x Yards per pass) + (2x Yards per carry) + (.5 First downs) - (Penalty yards/10) - (2.5 Turnovers) - (Opposing Team's Trench Counter) Click here for more information on the Trench Counter For the 2009 season, our weekly team rankings will be based solely off this formula. 1. Indianapolis Colts: 10.7 Deservingly, the Colts are the top team in our rankings following their come from behind win against New England. Indianapolis had a +4.9 Trench Counter in the game, largely thanks to a +52 in penalty yard differential. Peyton Manning has a 134.3 passer rating in his 31 attempts during the fourth quarter when the score has a margin of +/- seven points. 2. New Orleans Saints: 10.0 Unlike their undefeated counterparts, the Saints have had a negative Trench Counter in two games, including their narrow Week 10 game 3. New England Patriots: 8.1 With Sunday's unsuccessful 4th down attempt from Tom Brady to Kevin Faulk, the Patriots are now 5-for-11 on 4th down. They lead the NFL in total first downs with 213. 4. Green Bay Packers: 7.6 The sack watch was in full effect as the Packers hosted DeMarcus Ware and the Cowboys, but Aaron Rodgers was sacked four times. 5. Pittsburgh Steelers: 7.5 Ben Roethlisberger was held to a season low passer rating of 51.5 by Cincinnati, with his previous low being 80.8 in Week 2's loss to Chicago. 6. Minnesota Vikings: 4.9 The Vikings, who are second in the NFL in total touchdowns with 32, thankfully made a serious leap in these rankings this week. 7. New York Giants: 4.6 New York enjoyed their most successful Sunday in weeks thanks to their bye and losses by the Cowboys and Eagles. 8. Dallas Cowboys: 4.0 The Cowboys passed and rushed for more yards on a per play basis, but the two fumbles and one interception made winning at Lambaeu nearly impossible. 9. Cincinnati Bengals: 3.7 The Bengals, like Pittsburgh, didn't score an offensive touchdown and kicked four field goals, but Bernard Scott's 96-yard kickoff return was the difference. 10. Denver Broncos: 3.6 The Broncos are averaging a fairly pedestrian 4.2 yards per carry while only reaching the end zone via the run four times all season. 11. Philadelphia Eagles: 3.4 The Philadelphia running game will now be centered around LeSean McCoy, who has averaged 4.1 yards per carry in his 86 attempts. He should get a fairly easy warm-up with the Eagles playing at Chicago this weekend. 12. San Diego Chargers: 3.1 LaDainian Tomlinson nearly rushed for 100 yards on Sunday for the first time on American soil since Week 4 of 2008 at Oakland (he also rushed for 105 yards in Week 8 in 2008 in London). 13. Baltimore Ravens: 2.8 The Ravens gave Willis McGahee 13 carries, but he only gained 35 yards compared to Ray Rice's 89 yards on 20 carries, plus a 13-yard TD. 14. Houston Texans: 2.3 Every team in the bottom six in rushing yards per game will either make the playoffs or are just one game under .500. 15. Seattle Seahawks: 0.9 We shall see this week how legitimate Justin Forsett's 123 yards on 17 carries (7.2 average) against the Cardinals will be when the Seahawks travel to Minnesota. 16. Jacksonville Jaguars: 0.8 The Jaguars are 4-2 in conference play, with their other two losses coming against the Cardinals and Seahawks. In order for them to have a legitimate playoff shot, they'll certainly have to beat both the 49ers and Rams. 17. Arizona Cardinals: 0.5 The Cardinals are an excellent 4-0 on the road, but just 2-3 at University of Phoenix stadium. 18. San Francisco 49ers: 0.5 Patrick Willis has 10 or more tackles in four of San Francisco's previous five games. 19. New York Jets: 0.2 The Jets were held to just 110 yards rushing, which is the second lowest output of their season for a team that has gained over 300 yards on the ground twice. 20. Atlanta Falcons: 0.0 The growing concerns about Matt Ryan are legitimate and will be even more important with Michael Turner injured. He hasn't had a truly good game since Week 5's win in San Francisco when he threw for 329 yards. He has a six game interception streak, with nine thrown over this last five. 21. Miami Dolphins: -0.1 The Dolphins will be without Ronnie Brown this week, but thankfully they have Ricky Williams, who is averaging 5.3 yards per rush. 22. Washington Redskins: -0.8 The Redskins are 3-1 when they finish the game with 125 yards or more on the ground. 23. Carolina Panthers: -2.6 As his Oregon Ducks find themselves two wins away from the Rose Bowl, Jonathan Stewart has a 5.8 yards per carry average with six TDs in Carolina's wins and a 3.4 average in their losses. 24. Buffalo Bills: -2.7 With Trent Edwards injured, he doesn't have to worry much about Ryan Fitzpatrick taking his job, with a 49.8 passer rating. 25. Chicago Bears: -2.7 Matt Forte's 120 yards receiving is the most by any member of the Bears this season, with only Devin Hester reaching the 100-yard plateau at all. Chicago is 0-3 when Jay Cutler throws for at least 300 yards. 26. Kansas City Chiefs: -5.6 In the first real game without Larry Johnson, Jamaal Charles rushed for an excellent 103 yards on a 5.7 average with a touchdown. 27. Tennessee Titans: -5.9 LenDale White has been no touchdown vulture this season, scoring just once all the way back in Week 4 and he has gained nine yards on seven carries in the past two weeks. 28. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: -8.0 Kellen Winsolw's productivity has increased sharply thanks to Josh Freeman, with 57 yards against Green Bay and 102 against Miami. 29. Detroit Lions: -9.6 Matt Stafford and the Lions only gained 4.0 yards per pass on Sunday against Minnesota. 30. St. Louis Rams: -9.6 Marc Bulger had a 93.5 passer rating, which was actually higher than Drew Brees' 89.1, which is a very rare occurrence against the Saints. 31. Oakland Raiders: -14.7 Michael Bush's 119 yards in Sunday's loss to Kansas City was the most this season by any Oakland rusher. 32. Cleveland Browns: -16.7 Ray Rice had one incomplete pass and still had a higher passer rating (39.6) than Brady Quinn (23.5), who went 13-for-31 with two picks.