The scoreboard is where games are officially won and lost, but they are largely decided by the team that wins the battles of yards per pass, yards per carry, penalty yards lost, first downs, and turnovers. For this reason, RealGM executive editor Christopher Reina created the following formula called the ?Trench Counter? to look at which team truly controls the game: (2x Yards per pass) + (2x Yards per carry) + (.5 First downs) - (Penalty yards/10) - (2.5 Turnovers) - (Opposing Team's Trench Counter) Click here for more information on the Trench Counter For the 2008 season, our weekly team rankings will be based solely off this formula. 1. Pittsburgh Steelers: 10.0 An absolute drubbing of the lowly Bengals on Sunday allowed the Steelers to leapfrog the Giants and idle Eagles to take over the top spot. 2. New York Giants: 9.7 At times the Giants looked flustered against the 49ers, and even though they still won soundly, it wasn?t enough to hold off the surging Steelers. 3. Philadelphia Eagles: 8.8 The Eagles dropped a spot as they sat at home and watched the action from home. A win over the Falcons this weekend could launch them into the top spot with Pittsburgh and New York facing off. 4. Washington Redskins: 7.3 For the second-straight week there are three NFC East teams in the top four. Washington?s win over Cleveland wasn?t pretty (14-11), but they got the job done and continue to impress. 5. Tennessee Titans: 6.7 The undefeated Titans have entered the top-five, but their yards per completion average of 6.28 is among the league?s worst. Kerry Collins manages a great game for Jeff Fisher, but they?ll eventually need more out of his arm. 6. Atlanta Falcons: 5.0 If the Falcons want to move up in the rankings next week they?ll have to beat the Eagles in Philadelphia and continue dominating on the ground. 7. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 4.9 The Bucs are the sixth-straight NFC team in this week?s rankings thanks to their dominant, but ugly, win over the Seahawks on Sunday night. Their +4 takeaway differential has been the key to their success. 8. Carolina Panthers: 3.9 The Panthers moved up four spots, thanks to their impressive victory over the division rival Saints. Carolina dominated on the ground, and Jake Delhomme had one of his best passing games of the season. 9. Buffalo Bills: 3.5 The Bills, just the second AFC team in the top-ten, cut down the high-powered Chargers in Buffalo this past weekend. They collected a number of turnovers, three by Philip Rivers, and moved up six spots because of it. 10. Minnesota Vikings: 3.3 Both the Vikings and Bears should be embarrassed after their 48-41 shootout. Neither team played well, but Minnesota probably would have won (despite Gus Frerotte?s four picks) if they hadn?t messed up on special teams. 11. Miami Dolphins: 3.2 The wildcat formation is no longer a secret in Miami, and with Buffalo on the schedule this weekend, the Dolphins could slide down further. 12. Dallas Cowboys: 2.1 The Cowboys dropped five spots and saw their average trench counter fall from 4.8 to 2.1, thanks to a listless performance against the Rams. With Tony Romo on the sideline they can still win games, but will their statistics suffer? 13. Baltimore Ravens: 1.9 Joe Flacco will need to cut down on the interceptions if the Ravens are going to challenge in the AFC North. 14. Arizona Cardinals: 1.9 The idle Cardinals sit exactly where they did after Week 6, but in order to improve heading into the season?s midpoint, they?ll need to play extremely well against the tough Panthers. 15. Chicago Bears: 1.7 I already mentioned that horrific Chicago/Minnesota game, so I?ll focus on what the Bears need to do in order to move up this list. Getting more than 3.6 yards per carry would be a start? 16. San Diego Chargers: 1.4 The Chargers came unglued in Buffalo posting their second negative TC in three weeks. If Rivers is more careful with the football, they should see the top-ten in a few weeks. 17. New York Jets: 0.5 The honeymoon is over for Brett Favre and the Jets. The quarterback has one touchdown and four interceptions in the team?s last two games. 18. New England Patriots: 0.4 A little Monday night magic launched the Patriots from -4.2 to 0.4 in just a week?s time. Matt Cassel won?t have another game like the one he did against the Broncos, but Bill Belichick now knows what his quarterback can handle. 19. Green Bay Packers: 0.0 Seven weeks into the season and the Packers have absolutely nothing to show for it. Actually, that?s far from the truth. They are just a very average football team right now. 20. New Orleans Saints: -1.0 The Saints will struggle on offense without Reggie Bush, but they should be able to get out of the red if Drew Brees rekindles his relationship with Marques Colston down field. 21. San Francisco 49ers: -2.3 Mike Singletary says that this team has something special, but can the new coach unearth their supposed excellence? 22. Houston Texans: -2.4 The Texans narrowly held off the Lions after jumping out to a huge lead on Sunday. Look for another early lead with the winless Bengals are coming to town in Week Eight. 23. Denver Broncos: -2.4 The Broncos have dropped six spots, thanks to their performance in New England. A loss is one thing, but the injured finger of Jay Cutler could be another. 24. Jacksonville Jaguars: -2.8 Who would have thought that the Jaguars would be in the bottom half of the league in yards per carry? 25. Indianapolis Colts: -2.8 Things are about as bad in Indianapolis as they ever have been since Peyton Manning arrived in town. Their horrid run game, compounded by a weak offensive line, will need to improve ? fast. 26. Cleveland Browns: -5.6 I hate to say it just six games into the season, but the Browns are officially the league?s biggest bust. They are horrible in most facets of the game, but Derek Anderson?s 62.9 quarterback rating is the most glaring disappointment. 27. Seattle Seahawks: -8.7 To be completely honest, I?m very surprised that the Seahawks have an average trench counter as high as -8.7. They look, to steal words from Mike Holmgren, like a high school football team. 28. Oakland Raiders: -8.8 Tom Cable got the Raiders a win on Sunday, and JaMarcus Russell looks ready to handle more of the offense. If Cable trusts his quarterback, Oakland?s below-average passing attack could thrive. 29. Cincinnati Bengals: -9.5 The Bengals are absolutely horrific on offense right now, but more carries for Cedric Benson could keep Marvin Lewis in town a little longer. 30. St. Louis Rams: -10.1 Back-to-back wins over NFC East opponents have lifted the Rams out of last place and up a few rungs on the basement steps. If the Patriots remain hot, St. Louis could be back at the bottom next week. 31. Kansas City Chiefs: -10.5 Herm Edwards? quarterbacks have a 58.6 combined QB rating and are averaging just 5.10 yards per pass. 32. Detroit Lions: -10.6 The Lions have played better in the last two weeks, but their early-season struggles are still plaguing their trench counter ranking.