Once the finals seconds tick off the clock of Monday Night Football, it's officially a new NFL week, and all the experts and prognosticators have all the results they need to decide which teams are the top contenders at this exact moment in time.
The Cowboys have already played some statement games this season, but is the national media buying them? Every week we'll round up three of the league's most read and respected Power Rankings (ESPN, NFL.com, and CBS Sports) to see where Dallas stands among the rest of the league.
ESPN: 1.) Green Bay Packers 2.) Arizona Cardinals 3.) Tampa Bay Buccaneers 4.) Baltimore Ravens 5.) New England Patriots 6.) Kansas City Chiefs 7.) Buffalo Bills 8.) Tennessee Titans 9.) Cincinnati Bengals
10.) Dallas Cowboys (Last week: 5)
"Week 6 Confidence Rating: 9.1 How it's going now? 7.9. The confidence drop is what happens when you lose three of four games. Good thing the Cowboys don't play in the AFC West, with losses to Denver, Kansas City and Las Vegas. The offense has stagnated, especially the ground game. Defenses have interrupted the pass game with aggressive play outside, which has led to Dak Prescott holding the ball longer.
The Cowboys' defense has given up too many big plays all season, but now, it can't come up with key stops and has too many penalties. Greg Zuerlein missed a PAT versus the Raiders and a 59-yard field goal attempt hit the upright. He needs to be more consistent. All of the good feelings coming out of a Halloween win at Minnesota without Prescott has slowly leaked out of the balloon. -Todd Archer/page/NFLpowerranking1130/nfl-power-rankings-week-13-1-32-poll-plus-checking-team-confidence-rating)_
NFL.com: 1.) Green Bay Packers 2.) Arizona Cardinals 3.) Tampa Bay Buccaneers 4.) Kansas City Chiefs 5.) New England Patriots 6.) Buffalo Bills 7.) Cincinnati Bengals
8.) Dallas Cowboys (Last week: 5)
"The Cowboys have lost three of four after a 6-1 start and feel like a team taking on water. Injuries have played a major role in the slump: Amari Cooper (COVID-19), Tyron Smith (ankle), and CeeDee Lamb (concussion) have all missed time, while Ezekiel Elliott has a lingering knee issue that could limit him the rest of the way. It has made the Dallas attack less formidable, and even the week-to-week excellence of Micah Parsons has been unable to sustain a defense that's missed DeMarcus Lawrence (foot) and Randy Gregory (calf). The bad news continued to roll in Monday, when it was learned that Coach Mike McCarthy and several others will miss Thursday nights game against the Saints after entering the NFL's COVID-19 protocols. -Dan Hanzus
CBS Sports: 1.) Arizona Cardinals 2.) Green Bay Packers 3.) Tampa Bay Buccaneers 4.) New England Patriots 5.) Kansas City Chiefs 6.) Buffalo Bills 7.) Los Angeles Rams 8.) Baltimore Ravens 9.) Tennessee Titans 10.) Cincinnati Bengals 11.) San Francisco 49ers 12.) Las Vegas Raiders 13.) Dallas Cowboys
13.) Dallas Cowboys (Last Week: 12)
"They have lost three of four games and suddenly that Super look is gone. The defense was bad against the Raiders and now must turn it around on the road. -Pete Prisco
This Thursday the Cowboys travel to New Orleans to play the Saints, who experts have ranked 22nd (CBS Sports), 20th (ESPN), and 25th (NFL.com)
