Week 7 Power Rankings: Scoring 40 points makes the world believers again

The week is a whole lot better when the Cowboys win, isn’t it?

How Dallas does typically impacts so much of our world, our lives, and everything in between. Winning simply makes going to work, sitting in traffic, and having to run those extra errands easier.

Just how much did the Cowboys big win impact how the rest of the world views them, though? Thankfully for all of us there’s a super precise unit of measurement that is never ever wrong... power rankings!

Here’s how the Cowboys fared.

SB Nation: 21st, previously 28th

The Cowboys are almost back in the teens according to our friends at SB Nation, and a huge matchup on the road against the Washington Redskins could be what puts them there entering the bye.

Dallas was widely considered to be one of the worst teams in the NFL last week. Winning cures all.

NFL.com: 14th, previously 23rd

HOLD THE PHONES WE ARE NOT ONLY IN THE TEENS BUT IN THE TOP HALF???

The league’s official media site sees the Cowboys as a glass-half-full team at the moment. What a time to be alive!

Last week in this space, I made a general plea to play to Dak Prescott’s strengths -- his athleticism -- instead of keeping him in the pocket full-time. Prescott himself also could’ve picked more spots to take off and run. Well, that happened in Dallas on Sunday, on both counts, which not only kick-started a sputtering offense but seemed to build Prescott’s confidence throwing the ball. Also worth discussing: The Cowboys’ defense is a top-three unit, especially with David Irving back in the saddle. Rod Marinelli’s group can rush the passer with solely the front four, blitz with Jaylon Smith manning the point or play coverage. The Dallas defense was firing on all cylinders, with no let-up, against the Jags. Can the Cowboys keep it up on the road in Washington?

ESPN: 20th, previously 25th

The worldwide leader isn’t exactly ready to push the Cowboys into the teens, but they’re as close as you can possibly be. They also took it upon themselves to discuss playoff chances which we’ve been doing all season long here at BTB.

Playoff chances: 48.8 percent. The Cowboys’ playoff hopes will largely depend on what version of Dak Prescott they get the rest of the season. In Dallas’ three wins, Prescott has thrown for five TDs and no picks, and his off-target percentage is 15 percent. In their three losses, Prescott has two TDs, four INTs and an off-target rate of 23 percent, which would be the second-worst rate of any QB this season. -- Xie

Sports Illustrated: t-15th, previously 20th

SI has been higher on the Cowboys than most all season, but even they aren’t the highest rankers of America’s Team this week.

It’s interesting to note that the highest-place vote the Cowboys got from them was 12th and that the lowest was 20th. Dallas has jump-roped the middle of the pack all season long and these rankings are bearing that out.

USA Today: 19th, previously 26th

There were plenty of comments across the globe on Sunday that said the way the Cowboys looked against the Jaguars was reminiscent of their 2016 form. USA Today agrees.

Stifling D. Complementary play of Dak Prescott and Zeke Elliott balancing offense. Winning turnover battle. They looked like 2016 Cowboys.

Bleacher Report: 16th, previously 24th

It’s hard not to be impressed by 40 points against the Jacksonville Jaguars. It was so impressive that this is how Bleacher Report described it.

Where in the h-e-double-egg-noodles has this Cowboys team been hiding over the first five weeks of the 2018 season?

The Cowboys didn’t just beat the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 6—they pounded them into a pile of goo so unrecognizable that dental records were required for identification.

Winning does indeed cure all.