The 49ers obliterated the Buccaneers and have moved up to the No. 3 slot in our rankings, an unlikely position for this team when the season began. While their ranking has been inflated by a +31.0 against Tampa Bay, they would still rank a respectable seventh if we merely take their median Trench Counter score.
Four of the top-six games in terms of passer rating in the career of Alex Smith have occurred in the last 365 days and his work is coming with a piecemeal receiver corps.
Returning to the median, the bottom three teams are the Bears, Raiders and Jets, three teams that remain comfortably in the playoff picture.
The
Trench Counter formula, which the below rankings are solely based upon, creates a completely objective examination. The formula accounts for yards per carry, yards per pass, first downs, turnovers and penalties. It attempts to identify which team controls the line of scrimmage, controls the trenches.
The true intention of this type of ranking system is to identify teams that may be over or underrated.
1. Baltimore Ravens: 12.6
2. Green Bay Packers: 8.7
3. San Francisco 49ers: 8.6
4. San Diego Chargers: 7.4
5. Detroit Lions: 6.7
6. New England Patriots: 6.3
7. Houston Texans: 4.3
8. Washington Redskins: 4.2
9. Pittsburgh Steelers: 3.9
10. Cincinnati Bengals: 3.6
11. Buffalo Bills: 3.5
12. New York Giants: 3.3
13. Dallas Cowboys: 1.6
14. Carolina Panthers: 1.1
15. Minnesota Vikings: 1.0
16. New Orleans Saints: 1.0
17. Philadelphia Eagles: -0.6
18. Tennessee Titans: -1.3
19. Jacksonville Jaguars: -1.7
20. Atlanta Falcons: -2.9
21. New York Jets: -4.0
22. Denver Broncos: -4.1
23. Miami Dolphins: -4.3
24. Cleveland Browns: -4.5
25. Oakland Raiders: -4.5
26. Indianapolis Colts: -5.1
27. Chicago Bears: -6.4
28. Seattle Seahawks: -6.5
29. Arizona Cardinals: -6.8
30. Kansas City Chiefs: -6.8
31. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: -7.7
32. St. Louis Rams: -10.6