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. 

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 Cardinals, Panthers, Seahawks and Steelers finished the 2015 season ranked as the top-4 in Trench Counter.

Week 1 Rankings

1. San Francisco 49ers: 25.7
2. Baltimore Ravens: 10.8
3. Green Bay Packers: 8.2
4. Arizona Cardinals: 7.9
5. Cincinnati Bengals: 6.1
6. New Orleans Saints: 5.1
7. Minnesota Vikings: 4.0
8. San Diego Chargers: 4.0
9. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 3.8
10. Denver Broncos: 3.3
11. Pittsburgh Steelers: 2.8
12. Philadelphia Eagles: 2.5
13. New York Giants: 1.7
14. Chicago Bears: 1.6
15. Detroit Lions: 1.6
16. Miami Dolphins: 0.7
17. Seattle Seahawks: -0.7
18. Houston Texans: -1.6
19. Indianapolis Colts: -1.6
20. Dallas Cowboys: -1.7
21. Cleveland Browns: -2.5
22. Washington: -2.8
23. Carolina Panthers: -3.3
24. Atlanta Falcons: -3.8
25. Kansas City Chiefs: -4.0
26. Tennessee Titans: -4.0
27. Oakland Raiders: -5.1
28. New York Jets: -6.1
29. New England Patriots: -7.9
30. Jacksonville Jaguars: -8.2
31. Buffalo Bills: -10.8
32. Los Angeles Rams: -25.7