The Dallas Cowboys continue to fall in NFL power rankings

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.