How to Rank NFL Teams

College football may not have a playoff system, but it does have an efficient way to rank its teams compared to the National Football League. Millions of people watch the NFL every season, but knowing exactly what team is best is challenging until the Super Bowl. Unlike the college football system, with its numerous polls to show which team is best, the NFL lacks a decisive way to rank its teams throughout the regular season. With a bit a research and knowledge of the game, though, ranking all 32 NFL teams is possible.

Things You'll Need

  • Cable-ready television
  • Internet access
  • Blog
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Instructions

    • 1

      Judge a team's performance from the previous season. A popular time to rank NFL teams is before a new season begins. Whichever team wins the Super Bowl from the previous season is usually considered a highly ranked team going into a new season because it won the ultimate prize. Twelve teams make the playoffs each year. As long as they don't lose many star players, they should be considered top teams as well. If a team closed out the season with four straight wins, but missed out on the playoffs, consider that team as "sleeper" team to have a better year.

    • 2

      Watch the NFL Draft. Each April, the NFL holds its annual draft of college players. The worst team from the previous season usually gets the first selection unless it traded the pick away. The league orders the draft from worst to best based on the previous season. This also is a good indicator of where a team stands overall.

    • 3

      Watch NFL games. Being a regular viewer of the games each weekend helps you pick what team is better than another. If you can't watch all games, watch game highlights on television sports networks.

    • 4

      Check the standings regularly during the season. Look at standings within the league and conference. ames in 17 weeks. At the end of the season, a team that's won 14 games is significantly better than one that's one just five. You can rank all 32 teams solely on wins and losses. Of coursde, there will be several teams with similar records. To break any ties in your ranking, use a team's divisional record or current win-loss streak.

    • 5

      Rank by statistics. There are plenty of of team statistics that are updated weekly during the season at NFL.com. While it may not rank teams as a whole, individual team statistics are a good indicator of a team's standing within the league. Rank teams by points per game scored or allowed.

    • 6

      Gauge momentum. The teams with the best records don't always make the Super Bowl. Watch for teams winning regularly down the season's final few weeks as they could be primed for a Super Bowl run.

    • 7

      Submit your rankings to a blog or sports website. Post team rankings weekly or monthly on your blog to show how the rankings progress throughout the season. Sports websites, too, allow fans to rank teams along with their analysts.