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 Week 18 of the NFL Title Rankings of the 2024 season. See here for last week’s rankings.
6 of the 16 games ended with the lower ranked team winning. The largest jump was 26 spots. The highest ranked team to make the playoffs is the Rams at number 2. That means that the Super Bowl champion will only reach 2 in the rankings.
The Texans are the lowest ranked team to make the playoffs, meaning that any team ranked lower than 28 will not move again until next season.
The Seahawks beat the Rams to take the NFL Title Belt and first ranking. Because the Seahawks are not in the playoffs, they will remain first for the offseason.
With the Falcons’ loss to the Panthers, the Falcons will remain last for the offseason.
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 | 2024 Wk18 | Δ | Notes | |
| 1 | Seahawks | +19 | The Seahawks beat the Rams to take the NFL Title Belt and first. | |
| 2 | Rams | -1 | ||
| 3 | Patriots | +26 | The Patriots jumped 26 spots by beating the Bills. | |
| 4 | Bills | -2 | ||
| 5 | Broncos | +10 | The Broncos jumped 10 spots by beating the Chiefs. | |
| 6 | Chiefs | -3 | ||
| 7 | Commanders | -3 | ||
| 8 | Eagles | -3 | ||
| 9 | Ravens | -3 | ||
| 10 | Cowboys | -3 | ||
| 11 | Bucs | -3 | ||
| 12 | Chargers | -3 | ||
| 13 | Lions | +6 | The Lions jumped 6 spots by beating the Vikings. | |
| 14 | Vikings | -4 | ||
| 15 | Bears | +16 | The Bears jumped 16 spots by beating the Packers. | |
| 16 | Packers | -5 | ||
| 17 | Raiders | -5 | ||
| 18 | Saints | -5 | ||
| 19 | Bengals | -5 | ||
| 20 | Steelers | -4 | ||
| 21 | Jets | +6 | The Jets jumped 6 spots by beating the Dolphins. | |
| 22 | Dolphins | -5 | ||
| 23 | Browns | -5 | ||
| 24 | Panthers | -3 | ||
| 25 | Cardinals | -3 | ||
| 26 | Giants | -3 | ||
| 27 | Colts | -3 | ||
| 28 | Texans | -3 | ||
| 29 | Jaguars | -3 | ||
| 30 | Titans | -2 | ||
| 31 | 49ers | -1 | ||
| 32 | Falcons | – | With the Falcons loss to the Panthers, Falcons 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 point total was reset with the first game of the season.