The Dallas Cowboys lost on Sunday for the second time as a road favorite this season. The first instance of this phenomenon was back in Week 3 against the Chicago Bears and the most recent was Sunday against the Carolina Panthers. Caleb Williams and Bryce Young, everyone. Two of the (obviously) best quarterbacks in the NFL.
We have enough data to feel confident in our thoughts and opinions on this team. The Cowboys have a spectacular offense, but they are going to be limited at every turn by their defense. It is a great crime of football roster construction.
As you can imagine the world is rather down on the Cowboys following their latest embarrassment. So are we.
Here are our Week 7 power rankings and where the internet has the Cowboys ranked in theirs.
1 – Tampa Bay Buccaneers (LW: 4)
Baker Mayfield rules.
2 – Detroit Lions (LW: 1)
They have slipped up against the Packers right after the Parsons trade and to the Chiefs after they found themselves. They will be more than alright.
3 – Buffalo Bills (LW: 2)
I would be lying in saying that I am not getting a little worried here. But they deserve benefit of the doubt.
4 – Green Bay Packers (LW: 5)
It hasn’t felt smooth from start to finish for them in some time, but I imagine that bothers none of their fans.
5 – Philadelphia Eagles (LW: 3)
They are really reaching the end of their benefit of the doubt. Imagine if they lose to a Carson Wentz-led Vikings team this week.
6 – Indianapolis Colts (LW: 8)
Everything here is so magical and weird.
7 – Los Angeles Rams (LW: 9)
They are going to lurk all season and be a threat come playoffs time.
8 – Seattle Seahawks (LW: 11)
Same story here. My word they are weirdly awesome.
9 – Atlanta Falcons (LW: 18)
Monday night was big. They have had a strange run of big-time wins and then unpredictable losses.
10 – Kansas City Chiefs (LW: 19)
They might be back. That would stink for us all.
11 – New England Patriots (LW: 16)
They might be back atop the AFC East. Who would have thought!
12 – Chicago Bears (LW: 20)
They might be for real! That doesn’t make Week 3 any better, though.
13 – Washington Commanders (LW: 7)
We will see them on Sunday.
14 – San Francisco 49ers (LW: 6)
This is a significant drop, but I imagine they will be flying high again soon enough, especially when Brock Purdy and George Kittle are back.
15 – Los Angeles Chargers (LW: 13)
Some of those early weeks of the season feel pretty far in the rearview mirror right now.
16 – Pittsburgh Steelers (LW: 14)
A win is a win, but does anyone really buy any of this?
17 – Jacksonville Jaguars (LW: 10)
Sunday’s game in London should be fun, although most games across the pond are dreadfully boring.
18 – Denver Broncos (LW: 12)
Case and point right here. The Broncos won and deserve credit, but their offense looked atrocious. I’m certainly they will have matters fixed next Sunday afternoon.
19 – Carolina Panthers (LW: 23)
Shout out Rico Dowdle.
20 – Dallas Cowboys (LW: 15)
They could have made up ground on both Philadelphia and Washington. That is so frustrating.
21 – Minnesota Vikings (LW: 17)
Beat the Eagles. Please.
22 – Houston Texans (LW: 21)
Welcome back from the bye.
23 – New York Giants (LW: 28)
Last Thursday night was one of the most positive nights the Giants have had in, what? A decade and a half?
24 – Las Vegas Raiders (LW: 27)
This team os so painfully boring.
25 – Baltimore Ravens (LW: 22)
It is such a bummer to watch them be bad.
26 – Arizona Cardinals (LW: 25)
Yikes.
27 – New Orleans Saints (LW: 26)
They look less boring lately, at least.
28 – Tennessee Titans (LW: 29)
What a disaster.
29 – Cleveland Browns (LW: 24)
It will never be good here.
30 – Miami Dolphins (LW: 30)
Mike McDaniel has to be on the thinnest of possible ice.
31 – Cincinnati Bengals (LW: 31)
Turns out Joe Burrow is pretty important!
32 – New York Jets (LW: 32)
Relegation.
ESPN: 22 (LW: 21)
Here we go.
Lesson learned: There are no answers on defense.
The Cowboys have given up 21 pass plays of 20-plus yards and 24 runs of 10-plus yards this season. They have been lit up by quarterbacks Russell Wilson, Caleb Williams and Bryce Young. They don’t affect the quarterback (11 sacks). They can’t take the ball away enough (four turnovers). They can’t stop teams on third down with teams converting 53% of the time. The Cowboys are last in yards (411.7) and passing yards (269.5); they are 31st in points per game (30.7). — Todd Archer
Same spot.
The Cowboys followed a familiar script Sunday, with Dak Prescott playing well enough to win and the defense unable to get the requisite stops. Old friend Rico Dowdle ran circles around Dallas’ defense all afternoon, making the defensive frustration even worse. The Panthers consistently moved the ball, with the Cowboys getting no pressure on Bryce Young and having no true difference-makers to generate a big play when it was most needed. That’s been the big void since the Micah Parsons trade. Prescott couldn’t convert the final few drives into touchdowns, but it’s tough to bash the offense right now when its margin for error remains minute. They’re now under .500 again, with two tough games upcoming against Washington and at Denver. The season is back on a tilting point, and it’s hard to imagine Dallas can solve the defensive issues with what’s currently on the depth chart.
USA Today: 22 (LW: 16)
Popular spot so far.
Owner Jerry Jones has (justifiably?) taken a lot of flak for trading DE Micah Parsons and deserves more for failing to make an attempt at retaining Dowdle, Dallas’ leading rusher in 2024. But give Jones credit for the acquisition of WR George Pickens, who has 19 catches for 359 yards and four TDs in the three games injured CeeDee Lamb has missed. Of course the next question is how Jones will handle Pickens, who’s scheduled to hit free agency in 2026, financially.
Yahoo: 23 (LW: 22)
Close!
The 2025 Cowboys are the 2024 Bengals. Dak Prescott is playing at an MVP level (he won’t actually win the award because of the Cowboys’ record) and the team around him is screwing it up. Dallas’ defense is really bad. The Cowboys have failed Prescott.
CBS Sports: 22 (LW: 19)
How many more 22s can we get?!
The run defense is awful. They’ve given up an average of 174 yards on the ground the past three weeks. The offense isn’t saving them from that mess.
The Athletic: 23 (LW: 21)
VERY close!
This team’s struggles aren’t Prescott’s fault. Despite being the victim of the second-most dropped passes of any quarterback this season (11), he’s second in the NFL in touchdown passes (13) and passing yards per game (269.5). He is 14th among all players in fantasy points per game (20.6) and is on pace for the third-best fantasy season of his 10-year career. George Pickens helped Sunday with a career-high nine catches for 168 yards, the second most of his career.
Sports Illustrated: 24 (LW: 20)
That’s that.
Here’s an interesting comment from Rex Ryan on the state of the Cowboys defense. It’s interesting because I wonder if Ryan would be a person Brian Schottenheimer would turn to in an attempt to fix it. Schottenheimer was Ryan’s offensive coordinator during the Jets’ back-to-back AFC title game runs.
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