After avoiding disaster in Week 14 against the Texans, the Cowboys could not do the same in Week 15 against the Jaguars on Sunday, watching a 17-point lead turn into an overtime loss that culminated with a Dak Prescott pick-six to end the game.
Dallas has already clinched a playoff spot with the Giants' win over the Commanders on Sunday night and has a massive showdown with the Eagles on Christmas Eve this Saturday. Just how far, if any, did the Cowboys fall in the national power rankings this week? Time to find out.
NFL.com: 1.) Philadelphia Eagles 2.) San Francisco 49ers 3.) Buffalo Bills 4.) Cincinnati Bengals 5.) Kansas City Chiefs
6.) Dallas Cowboys (Last Week: No. 6)
"The Cowboys' Christmas Eve matchup with the Eagles lost some sizzle after a damaging 40-34 defeat to the Jaguars that likely locks Dallas into a wild-card path in the playoffs. The Cowboys have no one to blame but themselves: Mike McCarthy's team had a 27-10 lead on Jacksonville with less than six minutes to play in the third quarter, but the defense couldn't cool off a scorching Trevor Lawrence, and Dak Prescott threw two more interceptions, including the overtime pick-six that ended the game in stunning fashion. The Cowboys aren't playing very sharp football right now -- if they don't clean things up, this will be yet another year to feature a fast start and depressing finish," - Dan Hanzus
The Ringer: 1.) Philadelphia Eagles 2.) Buffalo Bills 3.) Kansas City Chiefs 4.) Cincinnati Bengals 5.) San Francisco 49ers
6.) Dallas Cowboys (Last Week: No. 4)
"You can't blame Sunday's overtime loss to the Jags solely on Dak Prescott. While he did throw a ghastly interception late in the third quarter that led to points, his game-ending pick-six to Rayshawn Jenkins was a well-thrown ball that bounced right off wide receiver Noah Brown's hands. Prescott still finished the game 23-of-30 for 256 passing yards and three touchdowns. The Cowboys' more concerning issues are in the second and third levels of the defense. Starting defensive backs Jourdan Lewis and Anthony Brown are both already out for the season with injuries, and they benched cornerback Kelvin Joseph against Jacksonville after he gave up multiple long receptions. Safety Jayron Kearse has been banged up in the past few weeks, and linebacker Leighton Vander Esch left the game with an injury on Sunday," - Austin Gayle
Fox Sports.com: 1.) Philadelphia Eagles 2.) Cincinnati Bengals 3.) Buffalo Bills 4.) Kansas City Chiefs 5.) San Francisco 49ers
7.) Dallas Cowboys (Last Week: No. 4)
"Play stupid games, win stupid prizes. The Cowboys have been flirting with disaster for three weeks, and they finally went full send in Jacksonville. It takes a full team effort to blow a 17-point lead in the second half, and everyone was happy to oblige. This defense has some serious issues to address, and Dak Prescott has got to do something about the turnovers. His 3.9% interception rate in 2022 is double his career rate of 1.9%," - David Helman
