We have reached the final single-digit week of the NFL season and things are moving so fast that you would think they are up against the Dallas Cowboys defense.
Obviously times are tough for America’s Team following their 44-24 drubbing at the hands of the Denver Broncos. The franchise still has yet to win consecutive games since Weeks 4 and 5 of the 2024 season.
Given their up and down nature, the Cowboys have moved around a lot in both our power rankings and those from across the internet. This week’s edition is no different.
Let’s get to it.
1 – Detroit Lions (LW: 1)
No reason for movement here.
2 – Buffalo Bills (LW: 2)
They smashed the Panthers the way a contender should.
3 – Seattle Seahawks (LW: 3)
It will be interesting to see them out of the bye.
4 – Tampa Bay Buccaneers (LW: 4)
They bounced back nicely.
5 – Philadelphia Eagles (LW: 5)
Officiate the tush push properly.
6 – Kansas City Chiefs (LW: 8)
They are going to win the Super Bowl, aren’t they?
7 – Indianapolis Colts (LW: 6)
Jonathan Taylor may have a legitimate claim to MVP.
8 – Los Angeles Rams (LW: 7)
Welcome back.
9 – Green Bay Packers (LW: 9)
Their defense looks quite formidable. Wonder why!
10 – New England Patriots (LW: 10)
We are certainly at a point where we have to take them very seriously.
11 – Denver Broncos (LW: 13)
They are obviously good. We all knew this. Now it’s a matter of seeing how good they are when they don’t get to play the Cowboys every week.
12 – Los Angeles Chargers (LW: 17)
Let’s see it again and against some quality competition.
13 – Chicago Bears (LW: 11)
That was quite the bummer of a loss.
14 – San Francisco 49ers (LW: 12)
My goodness this one was worst , though.
15 – Pittsburgh Steelers (LW: 18)
It is hard to figure Pittsburgh out. They are clearly good, but they have a lower ceiling than contenders. It is weird for them to rise, but the teams behind them were so much worse.
16 – Atlanta Falcons (LW: 14)
Can you believe this team destroyed the Bills?
17 – Carolina Panthers (LW: 19)
They are gross. Also another weird riser, but the bottom half of the league is reaching some serious lows.
18 – Dallas Cowboys (LW: 15)
This team is the ultimate point of gross.
19 – Houston Texans (LW: 23)
Sunday’s win was very impressive. There is zero doubt about that.
20 – Jacksonville Jaguars (LW: 20)
Welcome back to this crew as well.
21 – Baltimore Ravens (LW: 28)
Maybe Lamar Jackson can save them?
22 – Washington Commanders (LW: 16)
Regression has indeed found them.
23 – Cleveland Browns (LW: 24)
Myles Garrett is unbelievable.
24 – Minnesota Vikings (LW: 21)
They are fading very, very, very fast.
25 – New York Giants (LW: 22)
All the best to Cam Skattebo. That was horrible.
26 – Cincinnati Bengals (LW: 25)
Just when we were willing to believe… they lost to the Jets.
27 – New Orleans Saints (LW: 26)
It is hard to watch Kellen Moore’s offense.
28 – Las Vegas Raiders (LW: 27)
They mercifully had the week off.
29 – Arizona Cardinals (LW: 29)
See you next week. Get ready to score a lot.
30 – Miami Dolphins (LW: 31)
That was a good win!
31 – New York Jets (LW: 32)
This was an amazing win!
32 – Tennessee Titans (LW: 30)
These are the Titans and they are so bad at the game we all love.
ESPN: 18 (LW: 16)
So it begins.
Best offseason addition: RB Javonte Williams
Nobody could have predicted Williams would be on pace for a 1,345-yard, 17-touchdown season when the Cowboys signed him to a one-year deal. Yet, here he is. Williams has shown the ability to break some long runs and pick up the dirty yards. How he holds up over the course of the season with the usage he has so far (on track for a career-high 264 carries) will be of interest. But if teams want to play their safeties deep to defend wide receivers CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens, then the Cowboys will continue to feed Williams. — Todd Archer
Down we go.
The Cowboys came out trying to play man defense against the Broncos, and it resulted in an interception … followed by four TDs in the next five possessions. They were down three important members of the secondary, rolled the dice and it bit them. That was tough, but seeing the offense fail to rise up to the challenge against Denver’s defense was disappointing — and revealing. The Cowboys have lacked that same juice on the road that they’ve shown at home, and this was just as tough a game as the Week 3 loss to the Bears was. Dak Prescott probably had his worst outing of the season, not taking enough advantage of Patrick Surtain II missing the second half. Dallas could have won back-to-back games but left looking like a team that can’t count on its offense bailing out the defense on a weekly basis.
USA Today: 19 (LW: 17)
The insistence on bringing up Jerry’s “stop the run” comments is and has been old. But so it goes.
Remember when Jerry Jones cited an emphasis on stopping the run as a reason to move on from DE Micah Parsons and reconfigure this defense? Seems to be going great, Dallas surrendering nearly 168 rushing yards per game over the past five weeks.
Yahoo: 17 (LW: 15)
A note on how the Cowboys defense will fix every offense.
The Broncos’ offense had been mostly stuck before Sunday when it scored six touchdowns. The Cowboys’ defense is atrocious. Cornerback Trevon Diggs went on injured reserve, with questions about his future with the team. A trade, even two, isn’t saving this defense.
CBS Sports: 21 (LW: 18)
Diving down.
The defense is horrible right now, and that led to the offense pressing in the loss to the Broncos. The question is whether they make moves before the trade deadline.
The Athletic: 20 (LW: 18)
A bit further.
Something scary: Keeping the scorebook
Pity the poor people who are keeping statistics at Cowboys games — because there are a bunch of them. Thanks to Dak Prescott, Dallas is scoring 30.75 points per game (second in the league), and thanks to a terrible defense, it is giving up 31.3 points per game (31st). Cowboys games have featured 496 points and 6,310 yards this season. Both of those numbers lead the league.
Sports Illustrated: 22 (LW: 16)
The linked story is a petition for Rex Ryan to help the Cowboys as a consultant or the new defensive coordinator. Seriously.
Here’s a fun/wild/unlikely fix for the Cowboys defense that I wrote about on Monday.
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