Every team in the NFL has officially played a game. Half of the fanbases across the league are feeling like anything is possible where the other side, including us, is questioning football fandom at large.
So goes the ride. Seasons are marathons and stumbling out of the gate is hardly proof that the whole journey will be this way. To be clear, that does happen, but I think we all believe that the Dallas Cowboys will figure things out. They better at the very least.
As the first week of the season is
now in the rearview mirror this means it is time for the first installment of our power rankings. Below you will find our own listing, and after you will see a curation of how outlets across the internet view the Cowboys at this moment in time.
1 – Chicago Bears (LW: N/A)
Before the season started SB Nation had some of us submit Super Bowl picks. I had the Bears beating the Bills. I feel pretty convicted right now, through the smallest sample size possible to be fair.
2 – Buffalo Bills (LW: N/A)
CONVICTION!
3 – San Francisco 49ers (LW: N/A)
Sometimes the teams who play on Thursday night get a little bit lost in the overall fold of the week, given that the game takes place so early. San Francisco looked incredible last week. It is unsettling.
4 – Jacksonville Jaguars (LW: N/A)
Time will tell if this was just a matter of taking on the Browns. I’m not down on the Jaguars, but I haven’t been as high on them as a lot of others. Maybe I should have been.
5 – Baltimore Ravens (LW: N/A)
My word. Lamar Jackson sure is something. If the Cowboys lose on Sunday then their date with Baltimore in Brazil is looking mighty scary.
6 – Kansas City Chiefs (LW: N/A)
It was always silly how many people were expecting them to miss the playoffs again. This remains their world.
7 – Seattle Seahawks (LW: N/A)
The Sam Darnold injury situation is the biggest factor here, obviously.
8 – Philadelphia Eagles (LW: N/A)
It is so annoying how they always find a way to hang on and win games. You really do have to respect it.
9 – Cincinnati Bengals (LW: N/A)
They were really fortunate to have a ton of takeaways last week, but getting off to a good start will surely help them given that they have historically had to climb out of holes.
10 – New York Giants (LW: N/A)
Good for them. Seriously. It sucked, obviously. But the Giants were clearly tired of hearing a certain narrative about their team and they did something about it.
11 – Detroit Lions (LW: N/A)
The Lions tried so hard to blow their game. They won and that’s what matters most, but a Thursday night date with Buffalo while the Bills unveil their new stadium looks pretty rough.
12 – Minnesota Vikings (LW: N/A)
Talk about stealing games, though. Huge kudos to the Vikings for battling back and humbling the Packers.
13 – Houston Texans (LW: N/A)
The Texans are my highest-ranked team that lost last week. It really is unfortunate that they did given the C.J. Stroud narrative. They’ll be fine.
14 – Los Angeles Rams (LW: N/A)
It feels more than fair to trust that they will be back, although missing Myles Garrett is a tough sell.
15 – Pittsburgh Steelers (LW: N/A)
Mike McCarthy is officially 1-0 with his new team, but to be fair it was the Falcons.
16 – Arizona Cardinals (LW: N/A)
Beating the Chargers was either really impressive or prove that the Chargers are indeed just the Chargers.
17 – New England Patriots (LW: N/A)
There is some built-in benefit of the doubt here as well. The Patriots will likely figure things out, but last week was really tough.
18 – Las Vegas Raiders (LW: N/A)
Maybe they will totally be fine, but again Week 1 can be misleading. Their win was nice, no one is denying that, but the Dolphins aren’t exactly a juggernaut.
19 – Carolina Panthers (LW: N/A)
This does feel a little low, but giving up 59 points is certainly something that has to drag you down to a certain place. The Panthers have the potential to be really fun this season. Good for Bryce Young.
20 – Green Bay Packers (LW: N/A)
It really is a shame that they are finding all of these ways to blow these fourth quarter leads!
21 – New Orleans Saints (LW: N/A)
Kellen Moore was so close. New Orleans definitely looks like they are improved and that they will be a harder out than in years past.
22 – Tampa Bay Buccaneers (LW: N/A)
I’d imagine this is the lowest that Tampa will be ranked for me all year. The turnovers were a huge issue, but Baker also has such an ability to pull off amazing plays. They’ll be fine.
23 – Dallas Cowboys (LW: N/A)
What else can we really say? Last week was embarrassing. Now it’s time to figure it out and move forward.
24 – Los Angeles Chargers (LW: N/A)
Speaking of embarrassing… yikes.
25 – Washington Commanders (LW: N/A)
See you on Sunday.
26 – New York Jets (LW: N/A)
They won and it stinks to have your reputation damage things from an evaluation standpoint, but until they beat a more quality team than the Titans then I think it is fair to hold a bit longer.
27 – Denver Broncos (LW: N/A)
My goodness. Monday night was brutal.
28 – Indianapolis Colts (LW: N/A)
Who else is totally shocked and surprised that they are still bad? Nobody? Of course.
29 – Miami Dolphins (LW: N/A)
Predictably bad.
30 – Atlanta Falcons (LW: N/A)
Sorry, Cooper Rush.
31 – Tennessee Titans (LW: N/A)
The only thing they have going for them is that they are not the Browns.
32 – Cleveland Browns (LW: N/A)
Well… yea.
ESPN: 16 (LW: N/A)
So it begins.
Week 1 result: Lost to the Giants 28-20
Preseason ranking: 15Non-QB newcomer debut: S Caleb Downs
Considering how poorly the defense played, it’s strange to give this to Downs, but the 11th pick in this year’s draft had a productive debut. And there wasn’t an offensive player who fits in this category. Downs finished with seven tackles, a sack and a forced fumble. He played 61 of 69 snaps, splitting time between safety and the slot. With Malik Hooker suffering a fractured forearm Sunday, the Cowboys might have to alter Downs’ alignment somewhat, even if he is a valuable slot defender. — Todd Archer
NFL.com: 17 (LW: N/A)
Right around the same range.
The offseason optimism regarding Dallas’ defense quickly faded on Sunday night. The Cowboys were bullied by the Giants’ bruising offense and didn’t get the one stop they needed most in a one-score loss. It’s only one week, but the ‘Boys already need to reflect on their shortcomings and work to quickly fix them, or else they’ll inspire the same criticisms that followed them to a 7-9-1 finish last season.
USA Today: 15 (LW: N/A)
Same sort of story.
Don’t want to underrate them this early, but Sunday night’s loss to the Giants was no fluke. America’s Team still has plenty of time to make a long-awaited Super Bowl push … yet must still disprove the notion that these are the same underachieving Cowboys.
Yahoo: 16 (LW: N/A)
And yet again, same sort of territory.
No team had a better EPA on offense than the Giants in Week 1 — which means no team had a worse EPA on defense than the Cowboys. Maybe team owner Jerry Jones was right to be “nervous” before kickoff Sunday night. Maybe everyone was too quick to assume that the Dallas’ exhaustive defensive issues from a season ago were fixed. Despite new personnel and a new coordinator, the same communication issues that led to blown coverages showed up again in the loss to New York. Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones took a measured view of the wreckage, telling 105.3 The Fan (via The Athletic’s Jon Machota): “Felt really good and still do about our football team. We just probably had a little unrealistic expectations in terms of what we could do, especially on the defensive side of the ball with all the new faces and a brand new coordinator.” Indeed, nobody should completely overreact to Week 1. But after a horrendous performance in the season opener, the Cowboys’ defense now has to show evidence, starting Week 2 vs. the Commanders, it’s any better than it was last season.
CBS Sports: 17 (LW: N/A)
Pretty popular theme today.
The idea that the defense would be improved sure didn’t show in the loss to the Giants. They blew a lot of assignments in that one.
The Athletic: 20 (LW: N/A)
A bit further down.
What we learned: The running game has to be better
The Cowboys had the ball for just 23:20 of game time. The Giants totally dominated the game flow, keeping the ball out of the hands of Dak Prescott and what’s supposed to be a powerful offense, and running 16 more plays than Dallas. Unless the Cowboys can run it better (Javonte Williams finished with 41 rushing yards on 12 carries), they’re going to be susceptible to nights like Sunday.
ProFootballTalk: 22 (LW: N/A)
A newbie for our weekly power rankings, PFT.
Like every year, the offseason’s delusion gets a hard dose of reality.
