This is an objective, unbiased ranking in the same vein as the NFL Title Belt. As such, the number 1 ranked team will always be the same as the current NFL Title Belt holder.
This is Wild Card Week of the NFL Title Rankings of the 2023 season. See here for last week’s rankings.
In half of the games, the lower ranked team won. These teams jumped at least 8 spots each.
The Bills beat the Steelers to take the NFL Title Belt and first ranking. The Chiefs will now have a chance at taking the Title Belt and first. Since the Belt made the playoffs, first and the NFL Title Belt will eventually go to the Super Bowl champion.
With the Commanders losing to the Cowboys in the last game of the season, the Commanders will remain last place. Until their first win next year.
The lowest ranked team still in the playoffs is the Packers at 17. That means that 18-32 are locked in until next season. But everyone else could shift.
Let me know if you’d like to see more of this, if you’re curious about how I came up with these rankings, or if you noticed any mistakes.
| Ranking | 2023 Wild Card | Δ | Notes | |
| 1 | Bills | +9 | The Bills beat the Steelers to take the NFL Title Belt and first. | |
| 2 | Steelers | -1 | ||
| 3 | Chiefs | -1 | ||
| 4 | Bengals | -1 | ||
| 5 | Texans | +8 | The Texans jumped 8 spots by beating the Browns. | |
| 6 | Browns | -2 | ||
| 7 | Ravens | -2 | ||
| 8 | Saints | -2 | ||
| 9 | Bucs | -2 | ||
| 10 | Titans | -2 | ||
| 11 | Jaguars | -2 | ||
| 12 | Dolphins | -1 | ||
| 13 | Jets | -1 | ||
| 14 | Lions | +11 | The Lions jumped 11 spots by beating the Rams. | |
| 15 | Rams | -1 | ||
| 16 | 49ers | -1 | ||
| 17 | Packers | -1 | ||
| 18 | Bears | -1 | ||
| 19 | Seahawks | -1 | ||
| 20 | Cardinals | -1 | ||
| 21 | Colts | -1 | ||
| 22 | Raiders | -1 | ||
| 23 | Patriots | -1 | ||
| 24 | Falcons | -1 | ||
| 25 | Cowboys | -1 | ||
| 26 | Broncos | – | ||
| 27 | Giants | – | ||
| 28 | Eagles | – | ||
| 29 | Chargers | – | ||
| 30 | Vikings | – | ||
| 31 | Panthers | – | ||
| 32 | Commanders | – | The Commanders will remain last for the offseason. |
This ranking assumes that there are never any fluke games and all teams are appropriately ranked. If you beat a team that is higher ranked than you, you move ahead of them and they move down one spot. However, other teams can jump in front of teams that are higher ranked than you, moving you further down the rankings.
Bonus rankings! This one is more straightforward. Teams get points for wins. They get more points for beating good teams and fewer points for beating bad teams. (+32 for beating the best team, +1 for beating the worst). Teams lose points for losses. They lose more points for losing to bad teams and fewer points for losing to good teams. (-32 for losing to the worst team, -1 for losing to the best) The points total has been reset with the first game of the season.
TEAM Ranking Points Ravens 1 267 49ers 2 185 Browns 3 176 Bengals 4 147 Steelers 5 144 Rams 6 112 Texans 7 110 Jaguars 8 86 Seahawks 9 85 Lions 10 75 Colts 11 65 Bills 12 49 Cowboys 13 41 Chiefs 14 35 Eagles 15 34 Bucs 16 3 Dolphins 17 -12 Titans 18 -15 Packers 19 -27 Saints 20 -45 Cardinals 21 -56 Broncos 22 -78 Raiders 23 -81 Vikings 24 -94 Jets 25 -94 Giants 26 -95 Falcons 27 -110 Bears 28 -118 Chargers 29 -155 Commanders 30 -168 Patriots 31 -181 Panthers 32 -223