NFL power rankings: Did experts move Dallas Cowboys up or down after Week 2?
The Dallas Cowboys earned their first win of the NFL season Sunday, a dramatic 40-37 overtime victory over the New York Giants, thanks in large part to kicker Brandon Aubrey, who made four field goals, including the game-winner.
Here’s where the team fell on various NFL power rankings after Week 2:
Todd Archer, ESPN
[Quarterback Dak Prescott] doesn’t run the way he did his first few years or certainly before he suffered a dislocated and fractured ankle in 2020, but he has shown he can move around this season. He might not look to run when escaping harm, but he does enough to get the ball to his playmakers. Prescott did not do much of that last season, and when he tried to do more, he suffered a season-ending hamstring avulsion.
Ranking: No. 19 (last week: 19)
Eric Edholm, NFL.com
The Cowboys outlasted the Giants in one of the more entertaining games you’ll see, even if it started routinely enough. It was 17-16 entering the fourth quarter, when all hell broke loose. The two teams rolled to nearly a thousand yards, with a stunning 361 of them — plus 41 points — coming in the fourth quarter. Brandon Aubrey saved the Cowboys’ bacon with an insane 64-yarder to tie it in regulation and a 46-yarder to win it in overtime. Dallas’ defense had an impressive second half at Philly, but it kept allowing the Giants, who scored six points in Week 1, big play after big play.
Ranking: No. 21 (last week: 21)
Nate Davis, USA Today
How about RB Javonte Williams’ resurgence in Big D? Tied for the league lead with three rushing TDs, he’ll match his career high with the next one.
.Ranking: No. 21 (last week: 23)
Ralph Vacchiano, Fox Sports
They had a gutty comeback to win in OT against the Giants. And yes, it was only against the Giants, but Dak Prescott showed that with CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens, Dallas has enough offense to win a bunch of games.
Ranking: No. 19 (last week: 21)
Pete Prisco, CBS Sports
They fought off an 0-2 start to beat the Giants in overtime, but there are a lot of problems. The secondary is a mess.
Ranking: No. 20 (last week: 16)
Frank Schwab, Yahoo Sports
Imagine the reaction if the Cowboys lost Sunday. It’s muted a bit because Dallas won, bailed out by a 64-yard field goal by Brandon Aubrey at the end of regulation to tie it, but its defense looked horrible. And yes, there’s a Micah Parsons factor involved with that.
Ranking: No. 23 (last week: 24)
Staff, Bleacher Report
The Dallas Cowboys offense we saw in Week 1 wasn’t a fluke. Dak Prescott is back to pre-injury form, while CeeDee Lamb, George Pickens and Jake Ferguson have the makings of a fun receiving trio. Javonte Williams even looks like a functional starting back.
Dallas defense, though ... woof. The Cowboys coughed up 506 yards and 7.8 yards per play to a Giants team that got nothing going in Week 1. Had Russell Wilson not heaved a floater in overtime that led to an easy interception, Dallas could easily still be winless.
Ranking: No. 21 (last week: 19)
Conor Orr, Sports Illustrated
This Cowboys team has been incredibly gritty through two weeks and kept on swinging against the division-rival Giants on Sunday. Despite nearly 500 yards of offense from just Russell Wilson. I couldn’t help but watch Brian Schottenheimer conduct his post-game festivities and see a team that has a lot more affinity for him as a coach than the lot of us. That feeling — and wins like these — can be powerful.
Ranking: No. 19 (last week: 24)
Diante Lee, The Ringer
There won’t be a better viewing experience in the NFL this year than watching the Cowboys as a neutral observer. Dallas’ defense is wholly incapable of stopping any opponent — so much so that team owner Jerry Jones had to sign veteran edge rusher Jadeveon Clowney immediately after Sunday’s overtime shootout win against the Giants. Dallas’ offense is swinging for the fences on every possession, subsisting almost exclusively on a diet of explosive plays.
Ranking: No. 20 (last week: 19)
Mike Florio, Pro Football Talk
Brandon Aubrey the Cowboy is the closest thing we’ve seen to Gus the donkey.
Ranking: No. 19 (last week: 21)
