Just like that the first two weeks of the NFL season are in the books. It flies by fast.
Thankfully the Dallas Cowboys are on the board with a win, and that makes everything feel better. The team has things to clean up, but that is so much easier to process coming off of a victory. There are still teams who have yet to put one in the win column this season and 0-2 starts make everything feel heavy.
Most of those teams fall at the bottom of our weekly power rankings. As we always do, we have ranked
every team across the NFL and we have also curated where outlets across the internet have the Cowboys ranked.
1 – Buffalo Bills (LW: 2)
It is their world right now. They looked great last Thursday night. Like with the Cowboys though, it is time to put it all together in January.
2 – San Francisco 49ers (LW: 3)
Unfortunately it appears that they are very much back.
3 – Kansas City Chiefs (LW: 6)
So are they!
4 – Seattle Seahawks (LW: 7)
The Seahawks are so admirable. They simply show up, dominate, and get out. They are arguably a perfect organization in that sense.
5 – Philadelphia Eagles (LW: 8)
The Titans were so close to pulling off the upset. Credit to the Eagles and Jalen Hurts for delivering when it mattered most, though.
6 – Cincinnati Bengals (LW: 9)
The Bengals have been threats in the past despite 0-2 starts. Well, now they are 2-0 and looking like anything is possible.
7 – Los Angeles Rams (LW: 14)
It is fair to point out, like with the Cowboys, that they cruised against a team that lost their starting quarterback. But the Rams have proven that they deserve benefit of the doubt.
8 – Baltimore Ravens (LW: 5)
They stumbled last week and will be ready to answer back against the Cowboys in Brazil.
9 – Jacksonville Jaguars (LW: 4)
I was someone who did not think much of the Jaguars before the season, and then I picked them to beat Denver and looked silly. There is a ton of potential here and they will likely bounce back themselves.
10 – New England Patriots (LW: 17)
Perhaps last week was the sign of a return to form.
11 – Chicago Bears (LW: 1)
Thankfully Caleb Williams is alright. We will see if he plays next Monday night or if the Eagles catch a break.
12 – Minnesota Vikings (LW: 12)
They have essentially gone 2-0 without their desired starter at quarterback… and against division rivals in the process. Pretty impressive stuff.
13 – Carolina Panthers (LW: 19)
This offense is so much fun. The NFC South is totally theirs.
14 – New Orleans Saints (LW: 21)
Unless these guys have something to say about that.
15 – Denver Broncos (LW: 27)
I was also not much of a believer in the Broncos, but wow this past week was something.
16 – Dallas Cowboys (LW: 23)
The offense is clearly one of the best in the NFL. Now it is time for the defense to rise to the occassion.
17 – Las Vegas Raiders (LW: 18)
They are 2-0! Seriously! Good for the Raiders.
18 – Green Bay Packers (LW: 20)
They came so very close to starting the season off 0-2. A win is a win, but this smells like a team that is going to play with fire a lot.
19 – Detroit Lions (LW: 11)
It was impressive how they fought back. I’m not sure that I am fully ready to write them off, but they are hardly the Lions of the last few years.
20 – Houston Texans (LW: 13)
Now this is a very tough scene. They are 0-2 which obviously stings, but they have lost both of those games to teams who they will (theoretically at least) be contending with for playoff seeding. No bueno.
21 – New York Giants (LW: 10)
Hopefully Jaxson Dart is alright. Until he’s back under center… this is a group that is hard to really evaluate.
22 – Pittsburgh Steelers (LW: 15)
Mike McCarthy and Aaron Rodgers are not exactly in perfect harmony right now.
23 – Tampa Bay Buccaneers (LW: 22)
It is legitimately shocking that they fell to 0-2.
24 – Cleveland Browns (LW: 32)
They had a huge hand in that!
25 – Los Angeles Chargers (LW: 24)
Maybe the internet will stop crowning them now.
26 – New York Jets (LW: 26)
They are hardly the pushover that they have been in the past, but they still stink.
27 – Indianapolis Colts (LW: 28)
Why would you give the ball to Patrick Mahomes in a must-win situation???
28 – Washington Commanders (LW: 25)
All the best to Jayden Daniels. It feels like that really takes some wind out of their sails.
29 – Arizona Cardinals (LW: 16)
It is shocking how unreliable Marvin Harrison Jr. is right now.
30 – Tennessee Titans (LW: 31)
They gave Philly a fight, but they still lost.
31 – Miami Dolphins (LW: 29)
Gross.
32 – Atlanta Falcons (LW: 30)
Mega gross. And they have three straight games in primetime starting this week!
ESPN: 16 (LW: 16)
Here we go.
Week 2 result: Beat the Commanders 37-20
Week 2 ranking: 16One thing we know about the QB1: The Cowboys will go as far as Dak Prescott can take them.
There have been — and will be — growing pains with the defense, so a lot will be on Prescott’s plate. The run game has not been what the Cowboys have wanted so far, either. Through two games, Prescott is completing 73.8% of his passes, and he has been able to escape harm with his legs, too. He has six touchdown passes and one interception, but the one giveaway shows the Cowboys’ thin margin for error. The Giants turned that into a touchdown to shift the momentum in Dallas’ Week 1 loss. — Todd Archer
NFL.com: 12 (LW: 17)
A nice bump up.
After a frustrating open to the season, Dallas rediscovered its offensive form against Washington on Sunday. Dak Prescott displayed the same pinpoint passing and fantastic rapport with CeeDee Lamb that helped propel the Cowboys to a No. 2 finish in yards per game last season. There are still concerns about the defense, but for now, the ‘Boys will enjoy their first win of 2026.
USA Today: 12 (LW: 15)
Same story here.
You knew QB Dak Prescott was now the franchise’s all-time leader in TD passes (249). But did you know he’s one win from defeating NFC East rivals 21 times in a row at home, which would break Tom Brady’s post-merger NFL record against a divisional foes? However Prescott will have to wait until the Eagles visit on Thanksgiving to take aim at that TB12 standard.
Yahoo: 17 (LW: 16)
The Cowboys dropped here. Hmm.
That’s more of what we expected from the Cowboys. Dak Prescott threw four touchdowns, breaking Tony Romo’s franchise record for career TD passes. The offense came alive but the defense is still a question after giving up 389 yards despite Jayden Daniels missing half of the game due to an elbow injury. The Cowboys didn’t have a sack. They have two sacks in two games, and the only player with more than a half-sack is safety Caleb Downs. Things will be fine if the Cowboys’ offense is putting up 37 points like Dallas did Sunday, but it’s hard to win that way in the NFL. It’s easier to attack those issues after a win, and team owner Jerry Jones is optimistic.
“We’re better than we’ve been in the last two years on defense,” Jones said, according to the team’s site. “And offensively, we saw some really impressive things tonight.”
CBS Sports: 17 (LW: 17)
No movement.
The offense impressed in the blowout of the Commanders. But the best news is the defense made strides after a bad opener.
The Athletic: 16 (LW: 20)
Another bump up.
Rookie spotlight: Jaishawn Barham
Sure, first-round safety Caleb Downs is starting and filling up the stat sheet — he has 17 tackles, a sack and two forced fumbles — but have you seen what the less heralded Barham is up to? The third-round defensive end from Michigan has 13 tackles, including two for loss. He had seven tackles and a forced fumble against Washington.
ProFootballTalk: 20 (LW: 22)
The lowest ranking of the bunch.
The defense is still a work in progress.
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