We have a serious amount of data on our hands at this point in the NFL season. Teams are separating themselves in both positive and negative ways, and because it is the NFL we are also still experiencing surprises from all different directions.
Unfortunately the Dallas Cowboys dropped a game that seemed to be in their hands last week, and as a result it makes calibration of the league as a whole a bit more frustrating than if they’d won. That’s the way it goes sometimes, though.
Seeing other teams
rise and fall is often a reminder at least of how the league truly is a week-to-week proposition. It is a marathon where overreactions are normal, but those overreactions should at the very least not be taken to mean that they are going to stick for the rest of the season.
All of this means… it’s power rankings time.
1 – Buffalo Bills (LW: 1)
There is zero doubt that they are the best team in the NFL right now. I’d imagine they all want to see it carry them through February, though.
2 – San Francisco 49ers (LW: 2)
No one knows better than us how impossible-to-stop this machine is when it is rolling. They look that way right now.
3 – Kansas City Chiefs (LW: 3)
Give KC credit for finding a way to protect Patrick Mahomes and keep him as fresh as possible for the games that matter as they know they will be in them. They are a smooth operation at the moment.
4 – Baltimore Ravens (LW: 8)
We obviously know that they are good and knew so last week. It doesn’t make the loss any less frustrating.
5 – Jacksonville Jaguars (LW: 9)
Duval has quite the football team on their hands. They could totally win the AFC this year. Trevor Lawrence has found it and it might be Liam Cohen.
6 – Seattle Seahawks (LW: 4)
Sam Darnold is back, but this is still the NFL where anything can happen in any given week. Tough loss in the Washington Football Team Bowl.
7 – Chicago Bears (LW: 11)
All week long the conversation was how Ben Johnson had never operated as a play-caller without a number one overall pick at quarterback. I think he is okay in that hypothetical now.
8 – Denver Broncos (LW: 15)
For some reason I still can’t fully buy in on this team, but the results are what they are. Huge win last week.
9 – Philadelphia Eagles (LW: 5)
It sure is fun to hate watch a team lose, isn’t it?
10 – Cincinnati Bengals (LW: 6)
I’d imagine they are going to be sore about dropping that one to Pittsburgh. No harm, no foul long-term, though.
11 – Los Angeles Rams (LW: 7)
The super mighty Rams are 1-2. This is hardly cause for concern, but it does underscore how the league is a marathon as noted.
12 – Las Vegas Raiders (LW: 17)
Good for them! Undefeated! Keep going so we can really believe.
13 – Minnesota Vikings (LW: 12)
Look. A win is a win and I really like what they have going on. It is just so strange because they seem to still be figuring it out, on offense at least. Brian Flores is a madman on the other side of the ball, though. Keep stacking ‘em.
14 – Detroit Lions (LW: 19)
I’d sell whatever Lions shares I have now, personally. A win is a win as noted, but I’m hardly moved over surviving a close call with the Jets.
15 – New Orleans Saints (LW: 14)
This might still be my pick to win the NFC South. They just ran into the mighty buzzsaw (who would have thought!) that is the Las Vegas Raiders.
16 – Dallas Cowboys (LW: 16)
Deep sigh.
17 – Carolina Panthers (LW: 13)
Losing to Cleveland has to hurt. That is one they are going to want back.
18 – Indianapolis Colts (LW: 27)
They survived the 0-3 bowl with a division rival. That is step one.
19 – Pittsburgh Steelers (LW: 22)
Look at Mike McCarthy.
20 – Washington Commanders (LW: 28)
They easily had the most impressive win of the week in taking down Seattle. I think if the Cowboys had won we’d be talking about how impressive it was for them to dominate Washington the week before given this game… but losing ruins everything.
21 – New York Giants (LW: 21)
It honestly speaks more to the low quality of the Titans right now that the Giants beat them. But goodness, New York just can’t catch a break on the injury front. Maybe JJ McCarthy is the answer to all problems?!
22 – New England Patriots (LW: 10)
This team is Very Not Good.
23 – Atlanta Falcons (LW: 32)
Huge win last week. Maybe they can ride Bijan Robinson the whole way.
24 – Cleveland Browns (LW: 24)
If they win on Thursday night then I think we can start taking them a little bit seriously.
25 – Green Bay Packers (LW: 18)
Suddenly the Cowboys’ trip to Lambeau Field doesn’t feel so scary.
26 – Houston Texans (LW: 20)
See you on Sunday.
27 – Tampa Bay Buccaneers (LW: 23)
They are winless and now facing time without their starting quarterback. Not fun.
28 – Los Angeles Chargers (LW: 25)
Easily the most disappointing team in the NFL.
29 – New York Jets (LW: 26)
They are feisty. I’ll give them that.
30 – Arizona Cardinals (LW: 29)
They are not.
31 – Tennessee Titans (LW: 30)
They definitely are not.
32 – Miami Dolphins (LW: 31)
Who enjoys watching them?
ESPN: 15 (LW: 16)
Here we go.
Fantasy surprise: WR George Pickens
Pickens looked great in training camp, and he was the WR12 in our draft rankings. So it’s surprising to see he has not scored or registered a catch for at least 20 yards. His production was better against Baltimore (seven catches, 82 yards), but the Cowboys need to get Pickens involved more. A team that lived on big plays in 2025 hasn’t been as effective on them this year. Pickens is averaging just 9.6 yards per catch, and he has gone five straight games without a touchdown. — Todd Archer
NFL.com: 11 (LW: 12)
Another bump up.
Dallas could have scored a major victory in an international setting if coach Brian Schottenheimer hadn’t micromanaged the end-game situation with an underlying fear of defeat powering his decisions. There were plenty of positives in this game, though: The Cowboys’ maligned defense finally earned a signature stop with a goal-line stand that opened the door for a fourth-quarter comeback, Dak Prescott continued to play at an elite level with both CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens, and rookie linebacker Jaishawn Barham logged the first significant stop of his pro career. The same problems surfaced in the end, though, when the defense allowed the Ravens to complete a deep pass to set up a walk-off field goal that never should have been on the table in the game’s final second. I suppose it’s a good lesson to learn in the first month of the season.
USA Today: 14 (LW: 12)
The first drop.
Used their last timeout too early Sunday. Shouldn’t have allowed the Ravens a touchback to start their final drive. Forgot to cover WR Zay Flowers. Basically a key breakdown in every phase inside the final 15 seconds of game play. Same old Cowboys?
Yahoo: 16 (LW: 17)
A slight tick up.
How? The Cowboys completely blew the final 23 seconds. They threw it incomplete on first down, then took a false start before second down. On third down, Dak Prescott, despite plenty of time and no pressure, threw it away instead of waiting for George Pickens, who was wide open. Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer confirmed Prescott was throwing it away, for some reason, and took the blame by saying he had been stressing to make sure Dallas didn’t blow the field goal opportunity.
“That’s on me,” Schottenheimer said. “I over-coached him.”
After taking the tying field goal, the Cowboys kicked off for a touchback, leaving seven seconds on the clock. That’s a bad clock management error because it gave the Ravens enough time to get a completion and a long field goal. Ravens head coach Jesse Minter admitted his team might have decided to go to overtime if there was any less time on the clock.
“Honestly, anything less than seven seconds, it would have been really hard to do the play that we did,” Minter said, according to the transcripts. “We may have even just ran the clock out. But [with] seven seconds left, and with the touchback rules, they decided to kick a touchback [and] gave us the ball on the 35. We really only needed 18-plus yards to get to our end-of-game type of range.”
The Cowboys might still be good this season, but that loss will linger.
CBS Sports: 16 (LW: 17)
Same story here.
Losing to the Ravens with one second left is a tough one to take. Now they face a tough turnaround against a desperate Texans team on the road.
The Athletic: 17 (LW: 16)
Opposite story here.
QB confidence: Higher than in the head coach
Dak Prescott missed a wide-open George Pickens in a critical moment Sunday, but the Cowboys were ultimately undone by a bad defense and poor game management. It was a perfect microcosm of Prescott’s 11-year career: really good but not good enough to overcome everything else. Since being drafted in the fourth round in 2016, Prescott is fifth in the league in passing yards (36,719), sixth in passing touchdowns (250) and 10th in EPA per dropback (0.12). He has two playoff wins.
ProFootballTalk: 21 (LW: 20)
Easily the most harsh of the group.
How long until they can start building hype for 2027?
Week To Week Movement
Full Power Rankings
