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 12 of the NFL Title Rankings of the 2023 season. See here for last week’s rankings.
The Jaguars beat the Texans to maintain the NFL Title Belt and first ranking. The Texans will play the Bengals next weekend for control of the NFL Title Belt and first.
The Patriots lost to the Giants and will remain last. The Patriots can move up next week when they play the Chargers.
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 Wk12 | Δ | Notes | |
| 1 | Jaguars | +22 | The Jaguars beat the Texans to take the NFL Title Belt and first. | |
| 2 | Texans | -1 | ||
| 3 | Ravens | -1 | ||
| 4 | Steelers | +16 | The Steelers jumped 16 spots by beating the Bengals. | |
| 5 | Bengals | -2 | ||
| 6 | Broncos | +2 | The Broncos jumped 2 spots by beating the Browns. | |
| 7 | Browns | -3 | ||
| 8 | Rams | -3 | ||
| 9 | 49ers | +12 | The 49ers jumped 12 spots by beating the Seahawks. | |
| 10 | Seahawks | -4 | ||
| 11 | Packers | – | The Packers maintained their rank by beating the Lions. | |
| 12 | Lions | -5 | ||
| 13 | Eagles | -4 | ||
| 14 | Chiefs | -4 | ||
| 15 | Chargers | -3 | ||
| 16 | Dolphins | -3 | ||
| 17 | Raiders | -3 | ||
| 18 | Bills | -3 | ||
| 19 | Jets | -3 | ||
| 20 | Cowboys | -3 | ||
| 21 | Giants | -3 | ||
| 22 | Commanders | -3 | ||
| 23 | Colts | +5 | The Colts jumped 5 spots by beating the Bucs. | |
| 24 | Bucs | -2 | ||
| 25 | Titans | -1 | ||
| 26 | Bears | +3 | The Bears jumped 3 spots by beating the Vikings. | |
| 27 | Vikings | -2 | ||
| 28 | Cardinals | -2 | ||
| 29 | Falcons | -2 | ||
| 30 | Panthers | – | ||
| 31 | Saints | – | ||
| 32 | Patriots | – | The Patriots will remain last after losing to the Giants. |
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.