Our NFL Team Rankings are based solely 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.

After losing consecutive games to the Seattle Seahawks and Indianapolis Colts, the San Francisco 49ers have won five in a row and climbed all the way to No. 3 in our Trench Counter rankings.

The Seahawks remain in the top spot, but had a -9.6 Trench Counter in their narrow win on Monday at the St. Louis Rams.

At the bottom of the rankings, the Jacksonville Jaguars have created some real separation with a simply awful -14.6 Trench Counter average.

Trench Counter (TC) Rankings

1. Seattle Seahawks: 7.1
2. Carolina Panthers: 6.4
3. San Francisco 49ers: 5.8
4. Green Bay Packers: 5.7
5. Indianapolis Colts: 5.5
6. New Orleans Saints: 5.3
7. Kansas City Chiefs: 5.3
8. Denver Broncos: 4.8
9. Philadelphia Eagles: 2.8
10. Cincinnati Bengals: 2.7
11. Chicago Bears: 2.2
12. New England Patriots: 2.2
13. Atlanta Falcons: 1.6
14. San Diego Chargers: 0.8
15. Dallas Cowboys: 0.1
16. Houston Texans: -0.8
17. Pittsburgh Steelers: -1.3
18. Baltimore Ravens: -1.4
19. Detroit Lions: -1.5
20. Washington Redskins: -1.8
21. New York Jets: -1.9
22. Tennessee Titans: -2.0
23. Cleveland Browns: -2.1
24. Oakland Raiders: -2.1
25. Buffalo Bills: -2.4
26. Miami Dolphins: -2.4
27. Minnesota Vikings: -3.7
28. Arizona Cardinals: -3.7
29. St. Louis Rams: -3.7
30. New York Giants: -5.7
31. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: -6.3
32. Jacksonville Jaguars: -14.6

Total Rushes/Completions (TRC) Rankings

1. Houston Texans: 10.1
2. Green Bay Packers: 9.6
3. San Diego Chargers: 9.3
4. Kansas City Chiefs: 8.9
5. Denver Broncos: 8.8
6. New Orleans Saints: 7.9
7. Detroit Lions: 6.4
8. Carolina Panthers: 5.4
9. Indianapolis Colts: 3.6
10. New York Jets: 2.8
11. Seattle Seahawks: 2.5
12. Cincinnati Bengals: 2.3
13. Baltimore Ravens: 2.1
14. Buffalo Bills: 1.5
15. San Francisco 49ers: 0.5
16. Washington Redskins: -0.1
17. Atlanta Falcons: -0.6
18. New England Patriots: -1.1
19. St. Louis Rams: -1.9
20. Tennessee Titans: -2.0
21. Pittsburgh Steelers: -2.6
22. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: -2.6
23. Chicago Bears: -3.1
24. Arizona Cardinals: -3.4
25. Oakland Raiders: -3.4
26. Philadelphia Eagles: -4.5
27. Dallas Cowboys: -5.5
28. Cleveland Browns: -7.4
29. New York Giants: -8.8
30. Miami Dolphins: -8.9
31. Jacksonville Jaguars: -9.9
32. Minnesota Vikings: -14.6