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.
The Seattle Seahawks and Philadelphia Eagles were on byes and held in their slots in first and fourth, while the Carolina Panthers and New Orleans Saints are now tied at 6.2 with their narrow Week 12 victories.
The New England Patriots and San Francisco ascended with their victories. For Bill Belichick's team, they surprisingly had a +8.3 advantage in the Trench Counter against the Denver Broncos. The Broncos have dropped from 4.1 (6th) to 3.0 (8th).
As each had strong wins, the Arizona Cardinals and St. Louis Rams are in the top-12 to join the 49ers and Seahawks in what's become the best division in the NFL.
Trench Counter (TC) Rankings
1. Seattle Seahawks: 7.6
2. Carolina Panthers: 6.2
3. New Orleans Saints: 6.2
4. Philadelphia Eagles: 5.0
5. New England Patriots: 4.6
6. San Francisco 49ers: 4.2
7. Kansas City Chiefs: 3.4
8. Denver Broncos: 3.0
9. Green Bay Packers: 2.2
10. Cincinnati Bengals: 0.9
11. St. Louis Rams: 0.3
12. Arizona Cardinals: 0.1
13. Indianapolis Colts: -0.1
14. Baltimore Ravens: -0.4
15. Chicago Bears: -0.6
16. San Diego Chargers: -0.7
17. Tennessee Titans: -0.8
18. Buffalo Bills: -1.0
19. Detroit Lions: -1.2
20. Cleveland Browns: -1.4
21. Pittsburgh Steelers: -1.4
22. Houston Texans: -1.6
23. Atlanta Falcons: -1.7
24. Miami Dolphins: -1.7
25. Washington Redskins: -2.2
26. Dallas Cowboys: -2.8
27. New York Jets: -2.9
28. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: -3.0
29. Minnesota Vikings: -3.1
30. New York Giants: -3.1
31. Oakland Raiders: -3.3
32. Jacksonville Jaguars: -10.9
Total Rushes/Completions (TRC) Rankings
1. New Orleans Saints: 9.9
2. Denver Broncos: 7.2
3. San Diego Chargers: 6.5
4. Houston Texans: 6.5
5. Carolina Panthers: 5.1
6. Green Bay Packers: 5.1
7. Detroit Lions: 4.4
8. Buffalo Bills: 3.8
9. Cincinnati Bengals: 3.5
10. Kansas City Chiefs: 3.0
11. Washington Redskins: 3.0
12. Seattle Seahawks: 2.8
13. Baltimore Ravens: 2.4
14. New England Patriots: 1.0
15. Arizona Cardinals: 1.0
16. Chicago Bears: 0.5
17. Pittsburgh Steelers: 0.4
18. Tennessee Titans: -0.1
19. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: -0.6
20. Indianapolis Colts: -0.8
21. New York Jets: -0.8
22. San Francisco 49ers: -1.5
23. St. Louis Rams: -3.0
24. Oakland Raiders: -3.5
25. New York Giants: -4.4
26. Atlanta Falcons: -4.7
27. Cleveland Browns: -5.8
28. Philadelphia Eagles: -5.9
29. Jacksonville Jaguars: -7.9
30. Minnesota Vikings: -8.6
31. Miami Dolphins: -8.7
32. Dallas Cowboys: -9.5