Dallas City News

This was a wild week across the NFL. The San Francisco 49ers, Dallas Cowboys, Detroit Lions, Philadelphia Eagles and Los Angeles Rams lost in the NFC. Those are five of the playoff teams from the conference from a year ago, including the top three seeds.

On the AFC side, both the Baltimore Ravens (we’ll see them soon) and Cincinnati Bengals are winless to this point. Teams like the Minnesota Vikings (led by Sam Darnold!), Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Baker Mayfield in year two!) and Pittsburgh Steelers (Justin Fields when he did not even seem like the primary option not too long ago!) are all still undefeated on this short season. It was a week of chaos if that is not obvious.

Putting together power rankings after a mess like this is a difficult exercise, but one we are ready for nonetheless. This is our Week 3 installment of our power rankings with a collection of where outlets across the internet have the Cowboys ranked.

You can view last week’s rankings right here.

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1 – Kansas City Chiefs (LW: 1)

Not only are they the resident NFL kings and undefeated, but they have wins in the bank already (and therefore tiebreakers) over the Ravens and Bengals. Must be nice.

2 – Houston Texans (LW: 4)

The hype surrounding them entering the season was enormous and they looked fantastic on Sunday night. C.J. Stroud is the truth.

3 – Buffalo Bills (LW: 6)

I’ve doubted them a lot, but they are relentless in finding a way. I still wouldn’t buy long-term stock here but the Bills will always be around.

4 – San Francisco 49ers (LW: 2)

The Kyle Shanahan system is nearly perfect but it turns out Christian McCaffrey may be important for this particular version.

5 – New Orleans Saints (LW: 10)

It is going to be fascinating to watch them host Philly this week. Obviously we are hoping to see them trounce the Eagles, but right now they look like they will trounce anybody. That offense was… something.

6 – Tampa Bay Buccaneers (LW: 11)

This is maybe the biggest surprise of the season so far. The football world has continually written off the Bucs (myself included) since Tom Brady left and we are ignoring that Baker Mayfield has really found himself there. Good for him.

7 – Detroit Lions (LW: 3)

Have you seen a single national headline about Dan Campbell costing his team points at the end of the first half by not having his team totally organized? I didn’t think so.

8 – Dallas Cowboys (LW: 5)

There is zero excuse for what we saw on Sunday. We are hoping against hope that it was the outlier and not the norm. History within the Mike McCarthy era suggests it is the former (in terms of massive blowout losses), but that they are putting together a streak of such games at home is troubling, especially with a motivated Ravens team showing up on Sunday.

9 – Baltimore Ravens (LW: 7)

They blew a massive lead over the second half to a Raiders team that we do not think much of. Mistakes and blunders like this plagued Baltimore in the season opener as well. Sunday will tell us a lot about who they really are.

10 – Philadelphia Eagles (LW: 8)

It was pure and absolute theater watching them blow it on Monday night. Go Saints.

11 – Arizona Cardinals (LW: 22)

I’ve noted a few times that I am in on the Cardinals this season and it was awesome to see things really come to life for them. The Kyler Murray discourse is one I have never jumped onto as he is just so wildly talented. Marvin Harrison Jr. officially arrived. Put this team in the playoffs and let’s see some actual chaos.

12- Minnesota Vikings (LW: 15)

Kevin O’Connell might be the most underrated coach in the entire NFL.

13 – Pittsburgh Steelers (LW: 17)

It has got to be quite the experience as a Steelers fan watching your team grind these things out over and over and over.

14 – Los Angeles Chargers (LW: 14)

They are 2-0 for the first time since 2012, but they still do not seem particularly intimidating. We are so early in the Jim Harbaugh and know he is the kind of coach who will always be hanging around the rim. We just need to see a little more.

15 – Seattle Seahawks (LW: 13)

They may be feisty as the season progresses.

16 – Los Angeles Rams (LW: 12)

Sitting 0-2 is tough enough, but the mountain of injuries they are facing makes things worse, especially considering no team in their division is a slouch.

17 – New England Patriots (LW: 18)

They lost and that is what it is, but the Jerod Mayo era is off to an interesting start. He may indeed have been the right choice.

18 – Atlanta Falcons (LW: 27)

Kirk Cousins admitted after the game that he is still not sharp and that is obvious to see. But in the NFL when you can steal games those things add up at season’s end. Atlanta may find their way into the playoffs or may not, but this is a team worth monitoring if and when Cousins straightens out.

19 – Green Bay Packers (LW: 19)

What a huge win given the Jordan Love situation.

20 – Las Vegas Raiders (LW: 29)

Also a notable victory. They are a very Raiders-y team and that is so much fun to see.

21 – Cincinnati Bengals (LW: 20)

The Bengals are 0-2 for the third year in a row. You’d think this would be a bigger deal.

22 – Washington Commanders (LW: 25)

They won a game without scoring a touchdown!

23 – Chicago Bears (LW: 16)

Maybe things will stabilize, but right now we have yet to see any sort of offensive renaissance.

24 – New York Jets (LW: 23)

It has to feel good to get a proper win in the Aaron Rodgers era, but it still feels like pulling teeth here.

25 – Miami Dolphins (LW: 9)

They have dropped so low after the loss obviously, but also because they appear to have major questions at quarterback for the time being. All the best to Tua Tagovailoa.

26 – Indianapolis Colts (LW: 21)

Losing to the Packers was a really bad look. Shane Steichen is too talented to have his offense be this boring.

27 – Cleveland Browns (LW: 30)

Once again a win is a win, but this still feels broken.

28 – Jacksonville Jaguars (LW: 24)

Another winless team with an inept offense that isn’t taking any national heat.

29 – Denver Broncos (LW: 26)

Speaking of not taking heat, hand up if you have seen anybody criticize Sean Payton for the decision to kick off instead of try an onside attempt when trailing by seven in the final two minutes. Payton’s plan “worked” and gave his offense the ball back needing to drive the full length of the field with under 10 seconds to play.

To be honest, Payton is fortunate that things did not work out for him with the Cowboys job. The stage would have set him up to be seen with these blunders way more frequently.

30 – Tennessee Titans (LW: 28)

Will Levis continues to make questionable decisions.

31 – New York Giants (LW: 31)

They are as broken of an operation as you can have.

32 – Carolina Panthers (LW: 32)

Except for here. Maybe the Cowboys will get to see Andy Dalton down the stretch.

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NFL.com: 11 (LW: 8)

So it begins.

One step forward, one big step backward. The end of the Cowboys’ regular-season home winning streak (16 games) felt a little anticlimactic to me, considering what the Packers did to Dallas at AT&T Stadium in the playoffs, but it’s nonetheless stunning that a team that has been terrific in its own building for two years was throttled from the jump by the visiting Saints. You don’t have to remind Cowboys fans that the team had a disastrous loss early last season, and that group ended up going 12-5. But the defense looked worse than it did in almost any outing we saw a year ago. The 49ers dismantled the ‘Boys last season, and this Saints offense is a derivative of that type of system. Still, shouldn’t it be concerning that this kind of scheme has given Dallas’ defense so much trouble? It worries me.

ESPN: 14 (LW: 7)

A further drop at the worldwide leader. They also listed the most important role player.

Most important backup/role player: CB Jourdan Lewis

Lewis is like a starter as the nickel corner, considering how much the Cowboys play their sub packages defensively. He sets the tone just as much as Micah Parsons and DeMarcus Lawrence with his physicality. He is unafraid to set the edge in the run game. He’s capable of working the slot against receivers, tight ends or running backs. By the end of last week’s loss to New Orleans, he was working on the outside, too. If the coaches don’t like what rookie Caelen Carson is doing in place of an injured DaRon Bland, they can go to Lewis more. — Todd Archer

USA Today: 18 (LW: 7)

An even larger dip here.

So much for home cookin’. “America’s Team” has been shockingly outscored 92-51 in its past two outings at AT&T Stadium … and the next visitor will be a salty Ravens outfit Sunday.

Yahoo: 6 (LW: 4)

Holding a bit more steady here.

It’s hard to know what to make of the Cowboys. They were great in Week 1, getting pressure on Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson all game. They were horrendous in Week 2 while barely touching Saints QB Derek Carr, and New Orleans’ offensive line was a question coming into the season. Good luck guessing what comes next.

CBS Sports: 13 (LW: 6)

Back towards the middle.

That showing against the Saints was a horrible look for this group. They were dominated in all facets of the game. Now they face a tough one against a Ravens team hungry for a victory.

The Athletic: 13 (LW: 7)

Same spot here.

The roller-coaster ride of being a Cowboys fan never ends, does it? One week after getting Dak Prescott’s deal done and beating Cleveland by 16 points, Dallas rushed for 68 yards and never led against the Saints. If there’s a bright spot, maybe it’s that CeeDee Lamb got going with four catches for 90 yards, including a 65-yard touchdown that briefly gave Dallas life. If you’re not looking for bright spots, Saints fans had a full-on parade outside AT&T Stadium after the game.

Sports Illustrated: 17 (LW: 9)

Closer to the back of the class.

The Dallas Cowboys continued a tradition from last year in which they shove around a vulnerable opponent early in the season and then leave themselves totally exposed to an uppercut knockout. Could the Cowboys have simply been exposed given that Klint Kubiak knew Mike Zimmer intimately and designed an offense to beat it? Or, was their win over a severely wounded Cleveland team the ultimate red herring to start the season?

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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.

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