NFL power rankings: Pundits take stock of Dallas Cowboys after damaging loss
The Dallas Cowboys’ season-long three-game win streak was snapped with a 44-30 loss to the Detroit Lions on Thursday.
How did pundits react to the Cowboys’ first loss in a month when compiling their weekly NFL power ratings?
Todd Archer, ESPN
With five interceptions and five forced fumbles, the Cowboys are on pace for 13 takeaways. They had 22 a season ago when the defense struggled statistically. In their three-year playoff run from 2022 to 2024, they had 34, 33 and 26 takeaways. The Cowboys rank 29th in turnover margin (minus-8) as well. The teams below them — the Commanders, Vikings and Jets — have won 11 games combined.
Ranking: No. 15 (Prev. No. 15)
Josh Kendall and Chad Graff, The Athletic
Only two teams this century have given up more points per drive than the Cowboys’ 2.74 this season. The 2024 Panthers and 2020 Lions each won five games because of it. This Dallas team has won six already because of how good its offense is, but it didn’t matter Thursday. The Cowboys posted 417 yards of offense and 25 first downs — and lost by two touchdowns.
Ranking: No. 18 (Prev. No. 16)
Mike Florio, Pro Football Talk
There’s a realistic path to the NFC East crown.
Ranking: No. 17 (Prev. No. 16)
Ralph Vacchiano, Fox Sports
Their win streak ran into a buzz saw in Detroit, and now it looks like their hole might be too deep. They need a lot of help now to reach the playoffs, but at least their remaining schedule is really soft.
Ranking: No. 17 (Prev. No. 15)
Nate Davis, USA Today
Three of their final four opponents are below .500. And if the Eagles continue to lose, that divisional window of opportunity could still open wide for “America’s Team.”
Ranking: No. 15 (Prev. No. 14)
Staff, Bleacher Report
The Dallas Cowboys have been better at stopping the run since adding Logan Wilson and Quinnen Williams. Unfortunately, their defense still isn’t dependable against the pass, which was an obvious problem against the Detroit Lions on Thursday night. If CeeDee Lamb doesn’t miss extended time with a concussion, the Cowboys are potent enough offensively to win out and finish with a 10-6-1 record. The Chargers, who will visit Dallas, loom as the only playoff-caliber challenger left on the schedule
Ranking: No. 18 (Prev. No. 18)
Conor Orr, Sports Illustrated
You can say the same about Baltimore as you can about the Cowboys: tucked underneath a moment defined by an inexcusably bad call are some even worse situational decisions, both in terms of clock management and play design. The Cowboys were hosed. But also hosed themselves.
Ranking: No. 15 (Prev. No. 15)
Pete Prisco, CBS Sports
They aren’t done yet, but the loss to Detroit was a major hit to their playoff hopes. They can’t afford another.
Ranking: No. 18 (Prev. No. 13)
Vinnie Iyer, The Sporting News
The Cowboys‘ defensive woes have been fixed a little, but not enough to stop explosive NFC offenses. They also have little margin for error around Dak Prescott, which puts too much pressure on him to keep coming through.
Ranking: No. 16 (Prev. No. 15)
Frank Schwab, Yahoo Sports
The Cowboys technically moved up in the rankings, but that’s artificial because the Chiefs, Buccaneers and Colts had to move behind them and others this week. Still, Dallas is playing at a near playoff level lately, and a loss at a good Detroit team doesn’t change that much. But starting 3-5-1 put the Cowboys in a place they couldn’t afford any losses, and now their playoff dream is all but dead.
Ranking: No. 14 (Prev. No. 17)
