NFL power rankings: What do pundits say after Dallas Cowboys’ loss to Panthers?
The Dallas Cowboys’ latest loss to the Carolina Panthers, behind a monster revenge game from Rico Dowdle, kept the team from its first winning streak of the season.
How did the pundits making power rankings react to the Dallas Cowboys’ latest loss.?
Josh Kendall and Chad Graff, The Athletic
This team’s struggles aren’t (Dak) Prescott’s fault. Despite being the victim of the second-most dropped passes of any quarterback this season (11), he’s second in the NFL in touchdown passes (13) and passing yards per game (269.5). He is 14th among all players in fantasy points per game (20.6) and is on pace for the third-best fantasy season of his 10-year career. George Pickens helped Sunday with a career-high nine catches for 168 yards, the second most of his career.
Todd Archer, ESPN
The Cowboys have given up 21 pass plays of 20-plus yards and 24 runs of 10-plus yards this season. They have been lit up by quarterbacks Russell Wilson, Caleb Williams and Bryce Young. They don’t affect the quarterback (11 sacks). They can’t take the ball away enough (four turnovers). They can’t stop teams on third down with teams converting 53% of the time. The Cowboys are last in yards (411.7) and passing yards (269.5); they are 31st in points per game (30.7).
Eric Edholm, NFL.com
The Cowboys followed a familiar script Sunday, with Dak Prescott playing well enough to win and the defense unable to get the requisite stops. Old friend Rico Dowdle ran circles around Dallas’ defense all afternoon, making the defensive frustration even worse. The Panthers consistently moved the ball, with the Cowboys getting no pressure on Bryce Young and having no true difference-makers to generate a big play when it was most needed. That’s been the big void since the Micah Parsons trade.
Thomas Valentine, PFF.com
The Cowboys’ defense continues to hold this team back. The offense is second in EPA per play through six weeks, but the defense is dead last in EPA per play allowed and has surrendered over 30 points in four games this season. The Cowboys are now 2-3-1 after the 30-27 loss to the Panthers, but are very much still in the playoff mix. Dak Prescott, whose 91.3 overall grade ranks third among quarterbacks, is playing at an MVP level, but the defense has to step up.
Nick Brinkerhoff, USA TODAY
Jerry Jones wanted the Cowboys to be better at stopping the run. Instead, they decided not to stop anything. Dak Prescott can only carry this team so far.
Ralph Vacchiano, FOX Sports
The Cowboys really do have an offense that can do almost anything it wants, but their defense — that owner Jerry Jones was so proud of — is going to keep them out of the playoffs.
Mike Florio, Pro Football Talk
They’re really doing a great job of stopping the run.
Frank Schwab, Yahoo Sports
The 2025 Cowboys are the 2024 Bengals. Dak Prescott is playing at an MVP level (he won’t actually win the award because of the Cowboys’ record) and the team around him is screwing it up. Dallas’ defense is really bad. The Cowboys have failed Prescott.
Diante Lee, The Ringer
Head coach Brian Schottenheimer and the rest of his staff are doing whatever they can to make this team competitive, and quarterback Dak Prescott may be playing the best football of his career. Aside from an all-around meltdown against the Bears, no Cowboys fan should have many complaints about the product this team has put out this season.
This story was originally published October 16, 2025 at 3:20 PM.
