Last week was a rough one. The Dallas Cowboys were boat-raced by the Chicago Bears. Then a few hours later in a transitive property manner with the New York Giants offense looking horrible, Dallas’ win over them was called into question.
On top of the on-field results, the Cowboys have lost CeeDee Lamb and Tyler Booker for the foreseeable future, and up next have a date with the star player who they traded away a month ago. He just so happens to play for the team who destroyed this franchise the last time they visited the building where this game will take place.
Needless to say the vibes are not great! We are still in September and yet it feels like the Cowboys are already slipping out of contention. Things can change quickly in the NFL so a win on Sunday (lol, I know) would serve as a magic elixir, but we will get to that as the week progresses.
For now we are going to take a look at the lay of the NFL land and where the Cowboys fall within it.
Here are our Week 4 Power Rankings and where other outlets have Dallas ranked themselves.
1 – Buffalo Bills (LW: 1)
The “team of destiny” energy is very strong here.
2 – Philadelphia Eagles (LW: 2)
It is beyond annoying that they were able to pull it out against Los Angeles. They are elite at finding a way.
3 – Los Angeles Chargers (LW: 5)
Maybe they truly are for real this time. I know those are famous last words, but they look incredible.
4 – Tampa Bay Buccaneers (LW: 6)
It is very cool how Baker Mayfield has found himself in Tampa Bay. They have flown very close to the sun in all three of their games/wins and maybe that catches up to them, but right now they look stout.
5 – Detroit Lions (LW: 8)
Monday night was supremely impressive. Their sole mission is being great at football. Respect.
6 – Green Bay Packers (LW: 3)
How bad is Sunday night going to be?
7 – San Francisco 49ers (LW: 11)
They are starting to feel scary again.
8 – Indianapolis Colts (LW: 9)
The sample size is large enough to where we need to acknowledge Daniel Jones and his Indianapolis teammates. What a fun story.
9 – Los Angeles Rams (LW: 7)
YOU BLEW IT.
10 – Washington Commanders (LW: 10)
You are supposed to beat the bad teams and if you are able to do it with your backup quarterback then you deserve even more flowers. Good for Dan Quinn.
11 – Minnesota Vikings (LW: 14)
On the same note… what a performance with a backup quarterback.
12 – Baltimore Ravens (LW: 4)
It breaks my brain to have Baltimore this low, but they just keep finding ways to throw away games. They have so much talent and it is just a matter of re-establishing trust. Oh, and winning games.
13 – Seattle Seahawks (LW: 16)
Nobody should apologize for wins, but it was the Saints. Still, Seattle took care of business.
14 – Pittsburgh Steelers (LW: 17)
They benefitted greatly from New England refusing to capitalize in the redzone. I know that Aaron Rodgers is annoying, but they appear to be legitimate here in 2025.
15 – Chicago Bears (LW: 28)
Allow me to say that I think we all believe they are not this good.
The Cowboys are just that bad. But I think we’d all love to see Chicago prove that they are for real and that our assumptions about our own team are too harsh.
16 – Kansas City Chiefs (LW: 19)
Ugly wins still count and they are experts in finding a way. It is hard to feel optimistic here long-term, though.
17 – Jacksonville Jaguars (LW: 21)
They hung out for a pretty gritty victory against the reigning division champions. Good for them.
18 – Arizona Cardinals (LW: 15)
They fought hard and lost. It happens.
19 – Denver Broncos (LW: 18)
The Broncos had a lot of hype coming into this season and can’t seem to manage to close the door.
20 – Dallas Cowboys (LW: 12)
I agree that they should be lower. But look at the teams underneath them. This bottom third (ish) is a tough scene overall.
21 – Atlanta Falcons (LW: 13)
Getting blasted by the Panthers was quite the thing.
22 – New York Jets (LW: 24)
I know that they lost and that they have yet to win a game, but Aaron Glenn is clearly turning them around, even if it is happening slowly. They rallied and damn near pulled one off against a great Bucs team.
23 – Cleveland Browns (LW: 29)
If they had an offense they would be unreal.
24 – Carolina Panthers (LW: 31)
Blowout wins are impressive regardless of how they happen. Maybe the Panthers have woken up?
25 – New England Patriots (LW: 22)
You have to capitalize in the redzone. You must. It is essential.
26 – Cincinnati Bengals (LW: 20)
It is hard to watch them without Joe Burrow.
27 – Tennessee Titans (LW: 25)
We always knew this year was going to be bad.
28 – Las Vegas Raiders (LW: 27)
Figure it out. At least get Ashton Jeanty involved more.
29 – New Orleans Saints (LW: 26)
This is so gross.
30 – New York Giants (LW: 23)
Again, it was depressing to see how limited their offense looked just a week after torching the Cowboys.
31 – Houston Texans (LW: 30)
Very bad.
32 – Miami Dolphins (LW: 32)
The worst.
ESPN: 24 (LW: 19)
So it begins.
Biggest issue on defense: Too many big plays
It’s really everything, but the most egregious part is the number of big pass plays allowed. The Cowboys have given up 13 pass plays of 25 yards or more, including five touchdown passes of 25-plus yards. Whether it is communication or execution issues, it doesn’t matter. Twelve of those big plays came in the past two games against QBs Russell Wilson and Caleb Williams. The Micah Parsons-less pass rush has been nonexistent, and quarterbacks have found gaping holes in the secondary. For those who wonder whether the pass rush makes a secondary or the secondary makes a pass rush, the Cowboys are showing it’s the former. — Todd Archer
Everyone is (rightfully) coming for the defense.
The pass defense has utterly crumbled the past two weeks. Russell Wilson and Caleb Williams have otherwise looked ordinary against the rest of the league this season, but the Cowboys have brought out the absolute best in both, allowing Wilson to throw for 450 yards and three scores and Williams to tie his career high with four TD passes. Williams had 239 pass yards and three TDs at halftime, so it could have been worse had the game been closer. The problem with Dallas’ defense is, well, just about everything. No pressure, poor tackling, awful coverage lapses — give them credit for not making this about only one thing. It’s all bad, and it’s hard to envision Dak Prescott and the offense being able to bail out this unit on a weekly basis. Some games, sure, but with CeeDee Lamb and Tyler Booker likely to miss multiple games, the task will be that much harder.
USA Today: 28 (LW: 21)
Down near the very bottom.
No Parsons. No CeeDee Lamb for the foreseeable future. No ability to stop other teams defensively. But Jerry Jones thinks this is a playoff team. Naturally.
Yahoo: 26 (LW: 23)
More of the same.
Russell Wilson has played eight bad quarters this season, and against the Cowboys he looked like Dan Marino in 1984. Caleb Williams had the best game of his pro career against Dallas on Sunday. The Cowboys’ defense, without Micah Parsons, might be way worse than anyone could have feared.
CBS Sports: 23 (LW: 20)
Just a bit higher.
Man, is that defense bad or what? Even if they had Micah Parsons, the secondary is a disaster. They have more busts and bad plays than any group in the league.
The Athletic: 22 (LW: 21)
Only a slight dip down.
No quarterback has thrown more big-time passes, per PFF, than Dak Prescott (11). But it hasn’t mattered because Prescott also ranks 19th in yards per attempt (6.3). And the task doesn’t get any easier for Dallas this week.
Sports Illustrated: 25 (LW: 19)
That’s that.
The deep passing defense—a continuation of the Matt Eberflus effect—is beginning to cause serious concern in Dallas with the multifaceted shot-taking Green Bay Packers coming to town. This is just about the worst opponent to have coming to town while trying to keep the season on the rails.
Week To Week Movement
Full Power Rankings
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