Aikman Efficiency Ratings Suggest Kansas City's Defense May Be Underrated

The 33^rd Team is proud to be home for the Aikman Efficiency Ratings — Pro Football Hall of Famer Troy Aikman’s proprietary formula for measuring team offense and team defense in the NFL.

As opposed to just looking at total yards gained and allowed, Aikman combined seven categories, placing more emphasis on some:

Points per game (20%)
Points Per Red-Zone Possession (20%)
Turnovers (20%)
Yards per Rush (10%)
Yards per Pass (10%)
Third-Down Percentage (10%)
First Downs (10%)

The Miami Dolphins have turned things around since October on the defensive side of the ball, where Brian Flores' group has gone from one of the bottom 10 defensive teams in Aikman's ratings to No. 7 this week. One other team who has turned things around from the bottom 10 on defense to the No. 12 spot on offense in the Kansas City Chiefs, who appear primed to make another Super Bowl run now that their defense has figured things out.

After a bounce-back win over the New England Patriots, the Buffalo Bills have retaken the lead as the No. 1 defense by Troy Aikman's Efficiency ratings. Meanwhile, Tom Brady's Tampa Bay Buccaneers continue to hold steady with the No. 1 offense in the league.

While the Arizona Cardinals had previously sat in the top five on both offense and defense for much of the season, their Aikman Efficiency rating has begun to slide on both sides of the ball during their recent skid. Arizona still sits in the top 10 on both sides of the ball, but are now No. 6 on offense and No. 9 on defense and trending down.

Other teams in the top 10 on both sides of the ball include Tampa Bay (No. 1 offense, No. 6 defense), Buffalo (No. 2 offense, No. 1 defense), Dallas (No. 7 offense and No. 5 defense) and the Los Angeles Rams (No. 9 offense and No. 8 defense).

While the Green Bay Packers sit at No. 1 in our most recent edition of Paul Domowitch's NFL Power Rankings, they sit at No. 11 on offense and No. 19 on defense in the Aikman Efficiency Ratings.

For more on the Aikman Efficiency Ratings and the Aikman Foundation, click here.