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 2023 season. See here for last week’s rankings.
There were a few decent moves. The biggest was the Titans jumping 21 spots after beating the Jaguars.
The Steelers beat the Ravens to maintain the NFL Title Belt and first ranking. Since the Steelers made the playoffs, first and the NFL Title Belt will eventually go to the Super Bowl champion.
With the Commanders losing to the Cowboys, the Commanders will remain last place. Until their first win next year.
The lowest ranked team in the playoffs is the Eagles at 28. That means that 29-32 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 Wk18 | Δ | Notes | |
1 | Steelers | – | The Steelers beat the Ravens to keep the NFL Title Belt and first. | |
2 | Chiefs | – | ||
3 | Bengals | – | ||
4 | Browns | – | ||
5 | Ravens | – | ||
6 | Saints | – | ||
7 | Bucs | – | ||
8 | Titans | +21 | The Titans jumped 21 spots by beating the Jaguars. | |
9 | Jaguars | -1 | ||
10 | Bills | +7 | The Bills jumped 7 spots by beating the Dolphins. | |
11 | Dolphins | -2 | ||
12 | Jets | -2 | ||
13 | Texans | -2 | ||
14 | Rams | +9 | The Rams jumped 9 spots by beating the 49ers. | |
15 | 49ers | -3 | ||
16 | Packers | +11 | The Packers jumped 11 spots by beating the Bears. | |
17 | Bears | -4 | ||
18 | Seahawks | +6 | The Seahawks jumped 6 spots by beating the Cardinals. | |
19 | Cardinals | -5 | ||
20 | Colts | -5 | ||
21 | Raiders | -5 | ||
22 | Patriots | -4 | ||
23 | Falcons | -4 | ||
24 | Cowboys | -4 | ||
25 | Lions | -4 | ||
26 | Broncos | -4 | ||
27 | Giants | -1 | The Giants only fell 1 spot by beating and jumping the Eagles. | |
28 | Eagles | -3 | ||
29 | Chargers | -1 | ||
30 | Vikings | – | ||
31 | Panthers | – | ||
32 | Commanders | – | The Commanders will remain last after losing to the Cowboys. |
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.
I’m confused, if the Steelers beat the Ravens for number 1, shouldn’t the ravens be at #2 now? How did the Chiefs Bengals and Browns pass them?
Sorry, I should said that the Steelers kept first and the NFL Title Belt. They were already first, therefore there’s no change from them winning.