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 1 of the NFL Title Rankings of the 2023 season. See here for last week’s rankings.
There were a lot of shakeups including a new first ranked team. The Lions beat the Chiefs to take the NFL Title Belt and first ranking to start the season. Next, the Lions will have to defend against the Seahawks.
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 Wk1 | Δ | Notes | |
| 1 | Lions | +11 | The Lions beat the Chiefs to take the NFL Title Belt and first. | |
| 2 | Chiefs | -1 | ||
| 3 | Browns | +3 | The Browns jumped 3 spots by beating the Bengals. | |
| 4 | Bengals | -2 | ||
| 5 | Falcons | +4 | The Falcons jumped 4 spots by beating the Panthers. | |
| 6 | Panthers | -3 | ||
| 7 | Saints | -3 | ||
| 8 | 49ers | – | The 49ers maintained their rank by beating the Steelers. | |
| 9 | Steelers | -4 | ||
| 10 | Eagles | -3 | ||
| 11 | Cowboys | -1 | ||
| 12 | Bucs | -1 | ||
| 13 | Packers | – | ||
| 14 | Raiders | +5 | The Raiders jumped 5 spots by beating the Broncos. | |
| 15 | Broncos | -1 | ||
| 16 | Jaguars | -1 | ||
| 17 | Dolphins | +9 | The Dolphins jumped 9 spots by beating the Chargers. | |
| 18 | Chargers | -2 | ||
| 19 | Rams | -1 | The Rams only dropped 1 spot by beating the Seahawks. | |
| 20 | Seahawks | -3 | ||
| 21 | Jets | +6 | The Jets jumped 6 spots by beating the Bills. | |
| 22 | Bills | -2 | ||
| 23 | Commanders | -2 | ||
| 24 | Giants | -2 | ||
| 25 | Vikings | -2 | ||
| 26 | Ravens | -2 | ||
| 27 | Patriots | -2 | ||
| 28 | Texans | – | ||
| 29 | Titans | – | ||
| 30 | Bears | – | ||
| 31 | Cardinals | – | ||
| 32 | Colts | – | With the Colts losing to the Jaguars, the Colts will remain last. |
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.