There is a single week left in the regular season which means that seven days from now over half of the teams in the NFL will be off into the offseason. Unfortunately for all of us the Dallas Cowboys will be one of them.
Last week saw the Cowboys put an end to their three-game losing streak with a victory over the Washington Commanders. It was a hard game to draw anything serious from as Washington was down to their third quarterback in Josh Johnson, the phrase “a win is a win” can only stretch so far under these types of circumstances.
Given that the playoff teams are just about set on both sides of the league the situation with power rankings is pretty straightforward. This will be our last time conducting this exercise this year, hopefully it has been a fun ride for you on a weekly basis.
Let’s begin.
1 – Seattle Seahawks (LW: 1)
Can they lock down the one seed?
2 – New England Patriots (LW: 4)
The Patriots had two separate NFL dynasties, saw it all torn down, and built themselves back up all before the Cowboys returned to the NFC Championship Game.
3 – San Francisco 49ers (LW: 5)
They look absolutely terrifying.
4 – Buffalo Bills (LW: 3)
It feels like Buffalo’s year on the AFC side of things, but their path through the playoffs is going to be difficult and they have no one to blame for that except themselves.
5 – Los Angeles Rams (LW: 2)
They have blown a lot over the last few weeks.
6 – Jacksonville Jaguars (LW: 7)
The Jags definitely feel legitimately for real. Now it is just a matter of doing it deep in January.
7 – Denver Broncos (LW: 8)
I know it is not fair to call teams paper tigers, but I just don’t see it here. I know they will likely be the one seed. We will see.
8 – Chicago Bears (LW: 6)
If that offense shows up… they can do the whole thing.
9 – Houston Texans (LW: 9)
I do think we are consistently overlooking the Texans. They have all of the pieces.
10 – Philadelphia Eagles (LW: 11)
Surely the offense being horrendous is going to doom them at some point, right? Right?
11 – Los Angeles Chargers (LW: 10)
They lived up to a lot of people’s assumptions last week.
12 – Baltimore Ravens (LW: 18)
Perhaps they really will steal the division.
13 – Pittsburgh Steelers (LW: 12)
Because they don’t seem to want it.
14 – Carolina Panthers (LW: 14)
This has been a strange team all season, haha.
15 – Green Bay Packers (LW: 15)
Hopefully they are bounced from the playoffs sooner rather than later for draft purposes.
16 – Cincinnati Bengals (LW: 19)
Too little too late.
17 – Detroit Lions (LW: 13)
They had a 17-point lead in the NFC Championship Game two years ago. Nothing is ever promised.
18 – Indianapolis Colts (LW: 16)
They were 7-1!
19 – Minnesota Vikings (LW: 17)
It will be interesting to see how they handle J.J. McCarthy and the quarterback position at large in the offseason.
20 – Tampa Bay Buccaneers (LW: 20)
Another team who has just thrown this season away.
21 – Dallas Cowboys (LW: 21)
Yea. Well. Same.
22 – Atlanta Falcons (LW: 23)
Monday night was fun!
23 – New Orleans Saints (LW: 24)
Kellen Moore has a lot of hype surrounding this team as they approach an important offseason.
24 – Kansas City Chiefs (LW: 22)
They will be a very popular pick to bounce back next year.
25 – Cleveland Browns (LW: 26)
Who knows what this group will look like in the future.
26 – Miami Dolphins (LW: 25)
The new head coach will be critical here.
27 – Washington Commanders (LW: 27)
What even is their biggest problem? Where do you start?
28 – Tennessee Titans (LW: 28)
Cam Ward is starting to generate excitement for the future.
29 – New York Jets (LW: 29)
Gross.
30 – New York Giants (LW: 30)
Imagine blowing the number one overall pick.
31 – Arizona Cardinals (LW: 31)
They have now lost 13 of their last 14 games… you know the one!
32 – Las Vegas Raiders (LW: 32)
Fernando Mendoza time.
ESPN: 20 (LW: 20)
They also provided a lesson learned on the season for each team.
What we learned this season: A high-scoring offense is not enough.
The Cowboys have a 4,000-yard passer (Dak Prescott), a 1,000-yard rusher (Javonte Williams) and two 1,000-yard receivers (CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens), but they were eliminated from the playoffs with three games to play. Had the defense been average or close to it, perhaps Dallas would be in the postseason. Aside from a three-game winning streak, the unit underperformed in every area, which could lead to a fourth defensive coordinator in four seasons. Blame the Micah Parsons trade, but the Cowboys have just 31 sacks (their fewest since 2020) and 11 takeaways (their fewest since 2015), and they’ve given up 30-plus points eight times. — Todd Archer
No movement.
The Cowboys have a chance to finish 8-8-1, which certainly sounds better than 7-9-1 (or 7-8-2, yuck). That would give slightly more credence to the idea that Dallas can be a double-digit-win team next season under the right circumstances. Brian Schottenheimer wasn’t a lot of folks’ first choice as head coach, and it has definitely been a yo-yo season with plenty of twists and turns, but finishing above .500 with this defense would be pretty encouraging on the whole. Dak Prescott’s window has closed ever so slightly, but he’s still playing high-level football — and if the ‘Boys can keep George Pickens, this offense could reach new heights. Can Dallas rebuild the unit on the other side of the ball, though? That’s the question I am left with. This hasn’t been the most daring springtime team in recent years.
USA Today: 19 (LW: 21)
A teeny bump up.
Given how the last 12 months have gone − notably the departures of former coach Mike McCarthy and DE Micah Parsons − a .500 finish in 2025 would have seemed rather admirable. One more win will get Dallas there.
Yahoo: 18 (LW: 19)
And another.
Dallas finishing 8-8-1 with a win over the Giants in the finale would be fitting. They’re not good, they’re not bad, they have few good wins (Philly being an exception) and not a lot of bad losses (the Cardinals loss was the only awful one). They’re the epitome of mediocrity, and being the only team to finish .500 this season — no other team can unless there’s a Week 18 tie — might be the most appropriate way for the season to end.
CBS Sports: 19 (LW: 20)
And again.
That offense is sure fun to watch, but the defense still has issues. I expect major progress next season.
The Athletic: 20 (LW: 20)
No movement here.
Head coach check-in: Who knows in Dallas?
Jerry Jones’ unconventional hiring of Brian Schottenheimer has half-worked — the offensive half. With Schottenheimer calling plays, the Cowboys are fourth in the league in scoring (28.4 ppg). Whoever hired Matt Eberflus to coach the defense, though, might be rethinking that decision. Dallas is last in the league in scoring defense (29.8 ppg allowed). Schottenheimer probably will return, but it can be hard to read Jones.
Sports Illustrated: 21 (LW: 20)
A slight drop.
A wild stat from Ed Werder: The three highest point totals allowed in Cowboys history have all occurred in the past six years, with this year’s performance from Matt Eberflus serving as the worst. Oh, and there’s another game left this season.
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