There is always further to fall than you think. History has taught us this painful lesson many times, unfortunately. Just when we think that there is no way that the Dallas Cowboys could outdo themselves in the embarrassment department, America’s Team shows up true to form.

This week the Cowboys are coming off of a 34-6 drubbing in their home building against the hated Philadelphia Eagles. Under normal circumstances this would upset many of us, but everything around has been so on fire that we have grown used to the new status quo temperature and are no longer phased when it feels a little warm.

It will not shock you to learn that the rest of the NFL finds the Cowboys to be quite bad, but just how bad do people think they are? The time has come for our latest power rankings and gathering of where outlets across the internet have the Cowboys.

You can view last week’s rankings right here.

1 – Detroit Lions (LW: 1)

You have to find ways to steal a game or two if you are going to lift the Lombardi at the very end of the season. Detroit did that on Sunday night by winning a game that they were supposed to lose. They are such an impressive team to watch.

2 – Kansas City Chiefs (LW: 2)

Talk about stealing games… my goodness. This is the weakest Chiefs team we have seen (from an organization that has won three Super Bowls since 2019!) and they are undefeated through their first nine games. It must be so nice.

3 – Buffalo Bills (LW: 3)

They seem to be floating among the contending teams in the NFL at large. Up next for them is a chance to give Kansas City their first loss, although the Bills have made way too big of a deal of regular season games against the Chiefs before. Hopefully Buffalo recognizes this is the battle and not the war and even then not the most important battle (relatively speaking).

4 – Baltimore Ravens (LW: 4)

Another team who stole one! Although I don’t know that Baltimore stole their win as much as they just fought a little bit harder. They remain an elite team that is so fun to watch as well.

5 – Philadelphia Eagles (LW: 7)

It wasn’t even annoying that they beat the Cowboys by a score of 34-6 at AT&T Stadium. That is where we are at.

6 – Washington Commanders (LW: 5)

Sunday was a tough loss, but this is clearly a very good team that is going to be playing in the middle of January. Their game against Philly on Thursday night will be highly entertaining.

7 – Minnesota Vikings (LW: 6)

It never feels right to drop a team after they win, but Minnesota barely held on against a struggling Jaguars team. Kevin O’Connell is so impressive, but it feels fair to say that the Vikings are losing some steam a bit.

8 – San Francisco 49ers (LW: 8)

Do you mean to tell me that they did not look like juggernauts in the first game that they played after they played the Cowboys?

Shocked! I am shocked!

9 – Green Bay Packers (LW: 9)

Welcome back from the bye.

10 – Arizona Cardinals (LW: 11)

I’ve been absorbing Cardinals stock for weeks now and am very happy about it.

Could they seriously win the NFC West?! These are my Cardinals and I am proud of them!

11 – Pittsburgh Steelers (LW: 12)

This whole thing still feels a little like the clock will hit midnight and it will fall apart. But for now Mike Tomlin, Russell Wilson, Mike Williams and everyone else are having the time of their lives.

12 – Houston Texans (LW: 10)

It feels fair to say they are on a serious fraud watch, but given that they play the Cowboys at AT&T Stadium next Monday night that will stabilize soon enough.

13 – Tampa Bay Buccaneers (LW: 16)

It would be good for the NFL at large if this team made its way into the playoffs. They are tough and Baker Mayfield specifically is a huge reason for that.

14 – Atlanta Falcons (LW: 13)

You cannot lose to the New Orleans Saints. The drop should be more, but I digress.

15 – Los Angeles Chargers (LW: 17)

Kudos on the win. But my goodness they are so irrelevant in the bigger picture. Maybe playing on Sunday night this week will help with that.

16 – Cincinnati Bengals (LW: 18)

Sometimes a season has a very good team who just caught some poor breaks at the most inopportune times and it all snowballs against them. It feels safe to say that this is the Bengals this year.

17 – Los Angeles Rams (LW: 14)

They are so up and down these days.

18 – Denver Broncos (LW: 20)

Are we not talking about Bo Nix enough? I know they lost, but wow what an outing at Arrowhead. I’m not ready to crown Sean Payton’s era in Denver as a success but there is no question that this was a step forward, even if they did lose.

19 – Seattle Seahawks (LW: 15)

Another team back from their bye week.

20 – New England Patriots (LW: 24)

They had nine sacks against the Bears. What. How.

21 – Carolina Panthers (LW: 29)

You can’t help but feel happy for Bryce Young what with everything he has been through. They are going to really enjoy that bye week.

22 – Tennessee Titans (LW: 22)

Another team who is simply existing right now.

23 – Indianapolis Colts (LW: 23)

Their season feels lost in a different way than Dallas’.

Either way, they are not very good at all.

24 – New Orleans Saints (LW: 31)

They finally got their first win since blowing the doors off of the Cowboys way back when.

25 – Cleveland Browns (LW: 25)

Maybe the bye week helped out here. Who knows.

26 – Miami Dolphins (LW: 32)

Monday night was certainly impressive, but I maintain that Mike McDaniel is not taking enough national criticism for his team being so flat overall. That says a lot about Miami and its significance, really insignificance, in the national conversation.

27 – Jacksonville Jaguars (LW: 26)

Floating in the wind.

28 – New York Jets (LW: 19)

They are so unbelievably bad and chaotic. We know that life.

29 – Dallas Cowboys (LW: 27)

See what I mean?

30 – Chicago Bears (LW: 21)

It is a bummer to see Matt Eberflus go out like this. We had such good times together.

31 – Las Vegas Raiders (LW: 28)

Blah.

32 – New York Giants (LW: 30)

Imagine if they beat the Cowboys on Thanksgiving Day.

NFL.com: 24 (LW: 23)

Only a drop of one spot. Interesting.

One day, someone will write the book on how the Cowboys went from winning 16 straight home games to losing five straight at AT&T Stadium — and trailing by 20 or more points in each defeat. It might not be a record, but it sure feels like one. Granted, we all kind of knew what was coming, with a rising Eagles team meeting a down-and-out Cowboys club without its quarterback, Dak Prescott — now for the rest of the season, per Jerry Jones. The roof has metaphorically caved in over the past month, with four straight losses, and Dallas has a Monday night meeting with the Texans and a road trip to face the Commanders on deck. That losing streak could certainly continue. Micah Parsons returned to the lineup and had two drive-stopping sacks in the second quarter, but the Eagles’ offense eventually got cooking, CeeDee Lamb dropped a would-be TD because the curtains weren’t closed and Dallas turned the ball over five times, so it was all for naught.

ESPN: 23 (LW: 22)

This still feels a bit too high, if we are being honest.

They also had a non-quarterback MVP and this one is easy.

Non-QB MVP: Kicker Brandon Aubrey

When a kicker is under consideration for a team’s MVP, that tells you what type of situation the squad is in. That’s no knock on Aubrey, who has been tremendous. But who else could you pick from a defense that struggles stopping people and an offense that can’t score? Aubrey has made 22 of 24 field goal attempts on the season and is 9-of-10 from 50 yards or more (his only other miss came on a block). Five of his makes have been from 55 yards or longer, including a 65-yarder. — Todd Archer

USA Today: 29 (LW: 26)

Get comfortable down this low.

It’s rare when a team gets rid of the same player a year too early and a year too late. But these are the Cowboys, who never should’ve re-signed washed-up RB Ezekiel Elliott, now averaging 3.2 yards per carry … when he’s actually active.

Yahoo: 24 (LW: 23)

Again, feels kind of high!

Will the Cowboys win another game? Maybe against the Giants on Thanksgiving … maybe. Presumably, we’re going to see Trey Lance soon after Cooper Rush’s awful start, not that Lance will fix anything.

CBS Sports: 25 (LW: 25)

I repeat, too high!

They are done. Their quarterback is out for the year, and the backups aren’t any good. See ya.

The Athletic: 25 (LW: 23)

This is a popular range, it seems. Also please note that this was likely written before Tuesday’s news that Dak Prescott will in fact be having season-ending surgery.

Dak Prescott is 31 years old, and he could be about to have season-ending surgery to repair a hamstring that is torn off the bone. It wasn’t going great when Prescott was healthy. He’s 27th in EPA per dropback (minus-.05), which is not what the Cowboys were expecting when they made him the highest-paid player in the NFL in the offseason at $60 million annually. Cooper Rush, Dallas’ primary backup since 2021, passed for 45 yards on Sunday, and Trey Lance had 21 yards and one interception on six passes as the Cowboys dropped their fourth straight.

Sports Illustrated: 26 (LW: 24)

Maybe everybody just thinks that other teams stink more than Dallas.

I understand that Mike McCarthy and Cooper Rush had a rapport and that Rush has a good record as a spot starter for Dak Prescott. I also understand that it’s okay to label Trey Lance a project not worth reclamation at this moment in time. I realize I can’t have it both ways, supporting Shane Steichen for benching Anthony Richardson and chiding McCarthy for not playing Lance. But if you were McCarthy and could read the room, getting Lance some easy completions, running a few empty draws, moving the football in a fun way with a quarterback you could attach some modicum of positivity to … isn’t that infinitely better?

Dallas Cowboys Movement Week To Week

Every week (per suggestions from you wonderful BTBers) we will update this graph to note how the Cowboys moved in power rankings according to each of the outlets that we curate.

Dallas mayor invisible

Re: “Mayor Eric Johnson Let Dallas Down — We needed his leadership; we got an op-ed,” Sunday editorial.

I just finished reading your editorial concerning Mayor Eric Johnson. I agree wholeheartedly with this opinion. Johnson shows he has no concern for Dallas and its residents. He seems completely preoccupied with his next political move and position.

He has been invisible on so many issues involving the city. I was initially so excited about the prospect of Johnson and voted for him. Huge regret on my and my relatives’ decision to support him.

He did not step up and speak up about these propositions. He actually hasn’t spoken up much about Dallas. He speaks about national issues. Good riddance!

Becky Autrey, Dallas

I voted for Proposition U

Your pages state that the passage of Proposition U is the result of poor leadership from Mayor Eric Johnson or an uninformed electorate. I disagree. I voted for Proposition U. I researched this issue in advance, read your coverage on the propositions and gave ample thought and reflection to my voting decision. I was not tricked or uninformed.

I have lived in Dallas for eight years and for the entirety of that time, the Dallas Police Department has struggled to be fully staffed, the Dallas Police and Fire Pension Fund has been underfunded, and politicians and city officials have pledged to do better. Yet here we are.

While violent crime statistics may show improvements, the reality is Dallas citizens do not feel safe. I know that the requirements of Proposition U will put enormous strain on the city, the city may fall short and the requirements of Proposition U may be unrealistic, but we have to start somewhere.

The vote for Proposition U is a statement by citizens that among the many vital functions that our city government must perform, keeping its citizens safe (and feeling safe) is paramount to all others rather than the result of an uninformed and gullible electorate.

Douglas MacMahon, Dallas/Bluffview

Addison paid plenty to DART

Re: “Suburbs miscalculate DART expenses — Cities get more for their money than they think,” by Patrick Kennedy, Sunday Opinion.

I see at least two things wrong with Kennedy’s column. If you go back nearly 40 years ago when Addison started paying into the contributions for DART, all they received in their decades and hundreds of millions of dollars or perhaps more, and amid myriad complaints was bus service from Preston Road to Marsh Lane along Belt Line Road.

The mayor of Addison and many members of the City Council expressed disgust over the lack of better service and delay of the Silver line. Had it been started earlier, the costs would not have been anywhere near a billion dollars and not anywhere near the $2 billion that appears to be the final figure with many cost-saving “benefits” to the service removed by DART.

The other is that Kennedy is one board of directors member among the 15 members who easily spend millions of DART dollars, and what do they get in return?

Better service to Addison would have created more restaurants and entertainment, especially for conventions, and more tax revenue for DART. Hindsight is 20/20.

Kenneth D. McLintock, Dallas

Doctor sets record straight

Re: “Lifesaving care for women in Texas is perfectly legal — Scaremongering about state abortion ban isn’t helping patients — or doctors,” by Sudheer Jayaprabhu, Sunday Opinion.

I was so glad to read this column on the legality of lifesaving care for women in Texas. Despite the lies in many political ads, pregnant women do legally receive treatment in problem pregnancies.

Two members of my family did — one after having a miscarriage and the other in the early delivery of a child after a health scare.

Thank you, doctor, for setting the record straight.

Julia Davis, Plano

Parties seal their fates

Re: “Here’s what makes America great — Rather than throw up your hands, marvel that our founders created a system that still works,” by Abby McCloskey, Nov. 3 Sunday Opinion.

As I read McCloskey’s opinion piece, a recurring thought came back to me. We just went through a big election and now there is relief that it is over and hope that maybe things will be better.

But then reality will set in and we’ll discover the winners are not interested in making things better, just in pushing their agenda as far and as fast as they can. Doesn’t seem to matter which side wins, the result is the same.

So we swing back and forth, left then right and back again over and over. Neither side ever realizes that most of the populace doesn’t want to push that far or that fast.

People are willing to move but in smaller increments with time to digest if the changes make things better or worse. Then they will decide how to move the next time. But the parties keep pushing too far and the voters rebel again.

The parties seal their own fates.

James C. Nolen, Terrell

Narrow election identity

McCloskey states that the prevailing identity of this election is that of traditional values, faith, marriage and family, and nationalism. If that was the case, the people wouldn’t have voted for Donald Trump. The only portion of the described identity that aligns with him is that of nationalism.

Victor Kaplan, Plano

Waiting on lottery suit

Re: “Lotto scheme games system,” by Dave Lieber, Sunday Metro column.

Regarding this column on lotto schemes, Attorney General Ken Paxton, do your job. Sue someone, anyone.

Peter Lehmann, Euless

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Update:

The first Michelin Guide for Texas has been revealed. Learn more about the restaurants selected in Dallas, Fort Worth and across the state by following along with our coverage.