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, without fail, 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 Cardinals improved to 4-0 this week, but still have a negative Trench Counter average.

But the top-four teams based on the eye-test by most experts, the Texans, Patriots, 49ers and Falcons, comprise the Trench Counter top-four. 

Each team’s Trench Counter ranking from Week 3 is listed next to the per game average.

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 schedule and weekly results from each team are available by clicking below.

Trench Counter (TC) Rankings

1.

Houston Texans

14.1

1

2.

New England Patriots

13.2

3

3.

San Francisco 49ers

9.5

5

4.

Atlanta Falcons

9.4

2

5.

Washington Redskins

6.2

9

6.

Chicago Bears

4.2

12

7.

Baltimore Ravens

3.9

8

8.

Green Bay Packers

2.6

10

9.

San Diego Chargers

2.5

18

10.

Miami Dolphins

2.4

13

11.

Philadelphia Eagles

2.4

17

12.

Denver Broncos

2.3

21

13.

Seattle Seahawks

2.1

6

14.

Minnesota Vikings

1.9

7

15.

New York Giants

1.4

4

16.

Detroit Lions

1.0

14

17.

Cincinnati Bengals

-0.7

23

18.

Arizona Cardinals

-2.1

16

19.

St. Louis Rams

-2.7

28

20.

Oakland Raiders

-3.7

19

21.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

-3.9

15

22.

Indianapolis Colts

-4.0

27

23.

Cleveland Browns

-4.2

25

24.

Dallas Cowboys

-4.6

22

25.

Carolina Panthers

-4.6

26

26.

Buffalo Bills

-4.8

11

27.

Pittsburgh Steelers

-4.8

29

28.

Kansas City Chiefs

-5.4

24

29.

Jacksonville Jaguars

-6.8

30

30.

New York Jets

-7.4

20

31.

New Orleans Saints

-8.5

31

32.

Tennessee Titans

-12.7

32

Total Rushes/Completions (TRC) Rankings

1.

Houston Texans

19.0

1

2.

Washington Redskins

11.5

6

3.

Philadelphia Eagles

11.3

4

4.

Pittsburgh Steelers

11.0

5

5.

New England Patriots

10.5

7

6.

Detroit Lions

10.0

3

7.

Kansas City Chiefs

8.8

2

8.

Seattle Seahawks

6.8

9

9.

Denver Broncos

6.5

20

10.

Miami Dolphins

5.8

13

11.

Green Bay Packers

4.8

10

12.

San Diego Chargers

4.5

14

13.

New York Giants

4.3

8

14.

San Francisco 49ers

4.3

21

15.

Dallas Cowboys

3.0

18

16.

Cincinnati Bengals

2.5

19

17.

Chicago Bears

1.8

11

18.

Minnesota Vikings

1.8

12

19.

Atlanta Falcons

1.3

15

20.

Arizona Cardinals

-0.3

16

21.

Buffalo Bills

-2.3

17

22.

Indianapolis Colts

-3.3

22

23.

Baltimore Ravens

-5.0

27

24.

St. Louis Rams

-6.3

25

25.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

-7.5

24

26.

Carolina Panthers

-7.8

28

27.

New York Jets

-9.8

23

28.

Cleveland Browns

-13.5

29

29.

Oakland Raiders

-14.8

26

30.

New Orleans Saints

-15.0

31

31.

Jacksonville Jaguars

-16.3

30

32.

Tennessee Titans

-21.5

32