The latest batch of power rankings are, not surprisingly, unkind to the Dallas Cowboys.
Tuesdays are normally busy around the proverbial water cooler with power rankings coming out and the dust firmly settling on a full NFL week. This particular Tuesday was juiced all the way up as it was the NFL trade deadline.
Obviously the Dallas Cowboys had to involve themselves in these matters and did so by trading away their 2025 fourth-round pick to the Carolina Panthers. In return the Cowboys received wide receiver Jonathan Mingo and a 2025 seventh-round pick. If you are curious, Andrew Booth was the roster casualty around these parts.
But Tuesday called for power rankings nonetheless and we have never backed away from a challenge in that sense. Here is the lay of the land as we say goodbye to the single-digit weeks of the NFL season. As always we have also gathered where outlets across the league have the Cowboys ranked.
You can view last week’s rankings right here.
1 – Detroit Lions (LW: 1)
They have the league’s best roster, its most fearless head coach and a front office who is willing to never believe enough is enough.
Za’Darius Smith joined the group before the deadline and the only thing stopping them from winning this whole thing is named Patrick Mahomes.
2 – Kansas City Chiefs (LW: 2)
Speaking of! The Chiefs are undefeated and betting against them is foolish so my slotting of them here is certainly not that, they just do not look as sound as the Lions do in an overall sense.
But they continue to employ the best quarterback in the world which means they are always very well in the fight.
3 – Buffalo Bills (LW: 3)
Ultimately they are one of the handful of teams who appear to have a legit shot at all of this. Some fatigue with their consistency over the years is seeing them fly a bit below the radar, but the Bills haven’t gone anywhere.
4 – Baltimore Ravens (LW: 4)
Lamar Jackson remains underrated as a passer, as impossible as it is to believe.
We all reserve the right to change who we think is going to the Super Bowl before we firmly have to lock things in a few months from now, but it is going to be hard to not take the Ravens.
5 – Washington Commanders (LW: 5)
Everything is coming up the way that Washington wants it to, including acquiring Marshon Lattimore from the New Orleans Saints on Tuesday.
Imagine if they break their title game drought before the Cowboys.
6 – Philadelphia Eagles (LW: 9)
Could the Saquon Barkley signing be off to a better start halfway through the season?
What’s more is that Jalen Hurts appears to be really finding himself as a passer. He will probably never reach the true supernova status he had two years ago (just because it was that incredible of a season), but he is talented and has remembered that.
If only we had the energy to care.
7 – Minnesota Vikings (LW: 7)
Maybe they are losing a little bit of steam? It felt like it took so much for them to beat the Colts on Sunday.
Whatever the case they are not a team you can really count out. But we are watching.
8 – San Francisco 49ers (LW: 10)
It would not be shocking at all for them to stumble out of the bye and have people shocked as to why they are “regressing.”
The answer will be because the greatness we saw from them was when they were playing the Cowboys.
9 – Green Bay Packers (LW: 6)
Look, Jordan Love is insanely talented.
But Jordan Love also is somewhat volatile. That is starting to become an issue.
Losing to your top rival at the moment in the first measuring stick game after giving your franchise quarterback the big-time contract… it is amazing that it was not made a bigger deal out of.
10 – Houston Texans (LW: 8)
Last week was a tough scene and it will not get any easier this week against Detroit.
11 – Arizona Cardinals (LW: 11)
I’ve been telling you for weeks that I will happily buy all stock in the Cardinals that you are willing to sell me.
My Red Birds are going to be a playoff team.
12 – Pittsburgh Steelers (LW: 12)
They picked up Mike Williams and Preston Smith before the deadline.
Neither of those things is massive in and of itself, but their team continues to remain very much in play. The Steelers are incapable of being bad.
13 – Atlanta Falcons (LW: 13)
I’m not ready to say that this is a really good team given that they let a bad Cowboys squad hang around a bit.
But the NFC South appears to be theirs for the taking at the very least.
14 – Los Angeles Rams (LW: 15)
Tough. Gritty. Good for them.
15 – Seattle Seahawks (LW: 16)
Sorry about that, though.
16 – Tampa Bay Buccaneers (LW: 17)
It turns out losing your top two wide receivers is an issue, although the Bucs are certainly doing all they can to hold down the fort.
Losing stinks, but there is a lot of fight in the Tampa crew.
17 – Los Angeles Chargers (LW: 19)
Does anyone feel passionately about this team one way or the other?
They are just kind of existing right now.
18 – Cincinnati Bengals (LW: 20)
Thursday night’s game against Baltimore is the opportunity to prove that they really have begun to save their season.
It should be a great game.
19 – New York Jets (LW: 27)
Maybe they actually are turning it around? That win over Houston was impressive.
20 – Denver Broncos (LW: 18)
Another boring team void of any real juice or substance.
21 – Chicago Bears (LW: 14)
It is starting to get pretty late for our old friend Matt Eberflus.
22 – Tennessee Titans (LW: 29)
That was an impressive win against New England, but does it really mean anything?
23 – Indianapolis Colts (LW: 22)
Sitting Anthony Richardson makes sense, but they are just so broken on offense right now.
24 – New England Patriots (LW: 23)
This was always going to be a lean year for the, but at the very least Drake Maye looks like a very legitimate option at quarterback.
That is the most important victory of 2024.
25 – Cleveland Browns (LW: 24)
Very blah.
26 – Jacksonville Jaguars (LW: 25)
Insanely blah.
27 – Dallas Cowboys (LW: 21)
Congratulations on just avoiding the bottom 5.
28 – Las Vegas Raiders (LW: 28)
Firing a ton of offensive staffers in the first official year of the head coach seems totally normal.
29 – Carolina Panthers (LW: 30)
Enjoy that fourth-rounder.
30 – New York Giants (LW: 31)
At this rate they are more likely to turn it all around before Dallas does.
31 – New Orleans Saints (LW: 26)
They are 0-7 since having a party at AT&T Stadium.
32 – Miami Dolphins (LW: 32)
Once again… there is no conversation about how Mike McDaniel is failing them.
NFL.com: 23 (LW: 21)
Not quite as low as you may have thought.
After the Cowboys beat the Steelers in Week 5, I would have guessed they might have been trade-deadline buyers. But following three straight losses and Dak Prescott’s hamstring injury, I assumed the ‘Boys would be sellers. Instead, they swung a deal for WR Jonathan Mingo. OK … Even with a Micah Parsons return possibly on the horizon, everything feels like it’s in question in Dallas, with Jerry Jones saying Prescott is likely headed to IR. CeeDee Lamb was banged up in Atlanta, too. The Mingo move might make sense for beyond this season, but it’s hard to imagine it paying major dividends in the present, especially if backup QB Cooper Rush is forced to start four or more games. This is just a tricky spot to navigate right now, with their next three opponents all comfortably above .500. Even with the first two games in Dallas (Eagles and Texans), that doesn’t mean what it once did. The season has not felt quite right since the rousing Week 1 victory, and now it feels like it’s slipping away.
ESPN: 22 (LW: 20)
Also not too far down relative to last week. They also included the most important game remaining for each team.
Most important game remaining: Week 10 vs. the Eagles
Why wait? After losing three in a row, the Cowboys need a win in a bad way. Dallas is pinning its hopes on winning the division, which makes this game even more important. With a loss, its odds go down. But according to ESPN Research, at least one team starting 3-6 or worse has made the playoffs in each of the previous four seasons. But what would make you believe the Cowboys can make it five straight seasons? — Todd Archer
USA Today: 26 (LW: 17)
A pretty big fall here, but only because they were higher on Dallas last week than most.
Just when you think they’ve hit rock bottom, turns out they’re only changing drill bits. Three of the next four games are against NFC East foes, and the other is a Monday night home game against the Lone Star State’s best team, the Texans, that you just know owner Jerry Jones doesn’t want to concede. Yet it seems quite possible QB Dak Prescott’s hamstring injury will force him to miss all of those dates. At least QB2 Cooper Rush will have … newly acquired WR Jonathan Mingo to throw to? Um, yeah …
Yahoo: 23 (LW: 21)
Only dropping two spots here.
It keeps getting worse for the Cowboys, who will reportedly be without Dak Prescott for multiple weeks due to a hamstring injury. Dallas still has one of the NFL’s toughest remaining schedules. It’s worth wondering if there will be any reason to bring Prescott back in December.
CBS Sports: 25 (LW: 20)
A bit further down.
It’s over for this team. They have no chance to turn this thing around, especially with Dak Prescott out a few weeks with a hamstring injury. Big changes are coming.
The Athletic: 23 (LW: 22)
They included “something nice” for each team.
Something nice: Jerry Jones just keeps on talking
This is not a snarky compliment. This is an absolutely sincere compliment. The Cowboys owner gets grief for some of the things he says, but he keeps saying them. He is the only owner in the NFL who speaks regularly to the media (and through it to his fan base). When things get crazy, as they are now after three straight losses, he doesn’t hide. In fact, he talks more. Sure, maybe it’s because he likes it, but the NFL would be a lot more interesting if every owner did it.
Sports Illustrated: 24 (LW: 22)
Just a small dip!
Cooper Rush is 5–1 as a starter in Dallas, which, to me, points to how well Mike McCarthy has handled the bulk of his time with the Cowboys. Which, to me, points to why he probably should have gone into this season with a contract extension. Which, to me, points to why he should have been given at least enough security so that he could hire a better defensive coordinator than Mike Zimmer. Anyway, as we wrote Monday, teams wind up in perilous situations largely of their own doing. Rush and McCarthy will get to ride out into the sunset together.
Dallas Cowboys Movement Week To Week
Every week (per suggestions from you wonderful BTBers) we will update this graph to note how the Cowboys moved in power rankings according to each of the outlets that we curate.
