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 Conference Week of the NFL Title Rankings of the 2023 season. See here for last week’s rankings.
The Chiefs beat the Ravens to keep the NFL Title Belt and first ranking. The 49ers will now have a chance at taking the Title Belt and first. Because the Belt made the playoffs, first and the NFL Title Belt will now 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 49ers at 9. That means that 10-32 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 Divisional Round | Δ | Notes | |
| 1 | Chiefs | – | The Chiefs beat the Ravens to keep the NFL Title Belt and first. | |
| 2 | Bills | – | ||
| 3 | Steelers | – | ||
| 4 | Bengals | – | ||
| 5 | Ravens | – | ||
| 6 | Texans | – | ||
| 7 | Browns | – | ||
| 8 | Saints | – | ||
| 9 | 49ers | +7 | The 49ers jumped 7 spots by beating the Lions. | |
| 10 | Lions | -1 | ||
| 11 | Bucs | -1 | ||
| 12 | Titans | -1 | ||
| 13 | Jaguars | -1 | ||
| 14 | Dolphins | -1 | ||
| 15 | Jets | -1 | ||
| 16 | Rams | -1 | ||
| 17 | Packers | – | ||
| 18 | Bears | – | ||
| 19 | Seahawks | – | ||
| 20 | Cardinals | – | ||
| 21 | Colts | – | ||
| 22 | Raiders | – | ||
| 23 | Patriots | – | ||
| 24 | Falcons | – | ||
| 25 | Cowboys | – | ||
| 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 1 281 49ers 2 216 Browns 3 177 Bengals 4 144 Steelers 5 142 Rams 6 110 Texans 7 107 Lions 8 91 Jaguars 9 88 Chiefs 10 87 Seahawks 11 85 Colts 12 61 Cowboys 13 41 Bills 14 35 Eagles 15 30 Bucs 16 -5 Dolphins 17 -11 Titans 18 -20 Packers 19 -23 Saints 20 -40 Cardinals 21 -62 Broncos 22 -71 Raiders 23 -71 Vikings 24 -80 Jets 25 -101 Giants 26 -105 Falcons 27 -105 Bears 28 -106 Chargers 29 -148 Commanders 30 -178 Patriots 31 -187 Panthers 32 -224