The first week of the NFL season is in the books and what a set of 16 games it was. We are only one step into this entire journey and it is important to note that plenty of things will change as we traverse it all. Teams will impress and regress and lots of things in between.
This obviously applies to the Dallas Cowboys among the league at large, but on the subject of the latter today marks our first assessment of all 32 teams in the National Football League. Welcome to the first set of Power Rankings of the year here at Blogging The Boys. We rank all 32 teams as we see them and then provide how outlets across the internet view the Cowboys.
Let’s begin.
1 – Philadelphia Eagles
Kings stay kings. It sucks.
2 – Buffalo Bills
Sunday night was incredible. Team of destiny stuff.
3 – Green Bay Packers
Considering we are rooting against them in the name of draft capital, we might be in trouble.
4 – Washington Commanders
It is going to be awesome to see them at Lambeau on Thursday. We will see who is more for real.
5 – Los Angeles Chargers
Along those lines, I definitely don’t trust the Chargers. But we have to give them their due.
6 – Minnesota Vikings
Obviously the first part of the game matters, but wow what a rally. Kevin O’Connell and his staff are incredible.
7 – Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Bucs are the really good team that nobody talks about. They flew close to the sun last week, but they are going to be in the thick of things all season long.
8 – Los Angeles Rams
This is another situation that I don’t fully trust. But they found a way and deserve the benefit of the doubt.
9 – Baltimore Ravens
Obviously they lost, but I feel silly even having them this low. Baltimore looked unstoppable. They proved this on Sunday night, the only people who can beat them is themselves.
10 – Pittsburgh Steelers
I’m not sure how ready I am to believe that this is for real, but this was another group that looked very energetic in Week 1.
11 – Kansas City Chiefs
This is a lot of benefit of the doubt. But imagine if they lose to Philly this week.
12 – Indianapolis Colts
If we had to bet on anything from the first week being a mirage it is probably the performance of the Colts. But what if it isn’t? Could the AFC South be theirs?
13 – Cincinnati Bengals
The second half was a bit rough and tough, but they avoided starting a season slow and that is huge. Time to fix the offense.
14 – San Francisco 49ers
All offseason long I felt like the world forgot about how good the 49ers were before injuries decimated them. They did not exactly dominate in Seattle, but they are back to their winning ways at least.
15 – Jacksonville Jaguars
Domination is domination, but considering it was the Panthers we should be slow to overreact.
16 – New York Jets
I think I am ready to buy Justin Fields stock. At the very least this team is going to be watchable and entertaining.
17 – Dallas Cowboys
Last week had a lot of bright moments. Time to get a win and start stacking some together.
18 – Atlanta Falcons
Michael Penix Jr. looked great and that is what matters the most. Unfortunately they couldn’t finish the job.
19 – Las Vegas Raiders
I have no idea how this is all going to go. The Raiders in general do feel different. But skepticism feels fair.
20 – Denver Broncos
For a while it looked like they were going to get burned from playing with their food. It was hardly a loud and proud start to a season for the Broncos.
21 – Arizona Cardinals
This is the lowest-ranked team who won and some of that is that they barely beat one of the worst teams on the list. Someone has to win. I have high hopes for the Cardinals this season, but we need to see more.
22 – Detroit Lions
They looked all sorts of broken. Maybe it was the Packers. Maybe it was new coordinators. I don’t know, but they have to figure it out fast.
23 – Seattle Seahawks
JSN is amazing. But who else is going to help?
24 – Chicago Bears
It is more than that they lost. The offense looked pretty non-existent after an amazing first drive. We will see them soon.
25 – Cleveland Browns
The defense is going to waste away while the organization can’t figure out the offense. It is such a shame.
26 – Houston Texans
What did they do well on Sunday? Can you name one thing?
27 – New England Patriots
They are young and will likely figure things out. They have not done so yet, though.
28 – Tennessee Titans
It was a pretty boring debut for Cam Ward.
29 – Miami Dolphins
People use the word “vibes” way too much nowadays, but the vibes absolutely horrible here.
30 – New Orleans Saints
Very, very bad.
31 – New York Giants
Somehow worse.
32 – Carolina Panthers
Someone has to be last.
ESPN: 19
They had a “best newcomer” for every team. While it is obvious that Micah Parsons was chosen for the Packers it should be noted that DeMarcus Lawrence was selected for the Seahawks.
Best newcomer performance: DT Kenny Clark
While the rest of the football world was gaga over Parsons’ debut with the Packers, Clark was an effective part of a Cowboys run defense that limited Saquon Barkley to 60 yards. Despite only a week’s worth of practices, Clark played in 41 of 63 snaps and was credited with five tackles. When the Cowboys acquired him in the Parsons trade, the first thing owner Jerry Jones mentioned was his ability to help the run defense. With him on the field, the Cowboys allowed 2.8 yards per rush. — Todd Archer
Some positive notes even though the Cowboys lost.
All things considered, it was a pretty darned encouraging loss in the opener, even if the Eagles gave Dallas every chance to win the game. CeeDee Lamb’s late drops were unbecoming of a receiver of his caliber and likely cost his team a massive upset. After some early struggles, the defense made a second-half statement. Even if the weather affected the offenses — neither team scored after the delay — the Cowboys took a far more aggressive approach to getting after Jalen Hurts, and it proved effective. If Dallas can run the ball the way it did and play defensively more like it did in the second half, perhaps there’s some hope for these post-Micah Parsons Cowboys.
USA Today: 23
Saying the team depends on Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb is fair.
We’ll see how long they can sustain the good vibes after a surprising near miss in Philly. This team will probably go as far as QB Dak Prescott and WR CeeDee Lamb can carry it … assuming Lamb can hang on.
Yahoo:24
The stuff about run defense is going to be a thing the national media leans into for a long time.
One of the reasons Jerry Jones repeatedly gave for trading Micah Parsons was to fix Dallas’ run defense. The Eagles ran for 158 yards on the Cowboys in Week 1. Meanwhile, Green Bay’s run defense was fantastic in Week 1, especially when Parsons was on the field.
CBS Sports: 16
Pretty reasonable take overall.
They showed well in the loss to the Eagles. If only CeeDee Lamb had caught the ball. But they have to be pleased with what they saw in that game.
The Athletic: 22
They also listed a “first impression” for each team.
First impression: Dak Prescott needs more help
The quarterback’s numbers weren’t great: just 21-of-34 passing for 188 yards. Prescott threw some great balls, but he was let down by his receivers too many times, including his top target, CeeDee Lamb. Prescott did his part against the defending Super Bowl champs — he just needs more help. Including on defense, where the Parsons-less pass rush had only one sack.
Sports Illustrated: 24
I’m not sure that anyone is missing the point as mentioned here. Nobody denies that Micah Parsons is a good football player and could have helped the Cowboys. We are all just trying to accept what the team did.
I think those that are saying Dallas had a high pressure rate and played good run defense against the Eagles are missing the point. Micah Parsons could have made it better. That said, this Cowboys team is—unfortunately for those who want to see Jerry Jones cosmically punished—nowhere near a pushover. My preseason prediction of nine wins feels very much in play.
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