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The NFL landscape is never one that is predictable and Week 5 was plenty proof of that.
There are only two remaining undefeated teams after the latest batch of games, and of course one of them is the New England Patriots. This past week was not a good one for the Cowboys as they fell for the second week in a row and as a result they fell in ours (and everyone’s) power rankings.
Here’s the Week 6 version of power rankings. You can re-visit Week 5’s right here if you’d like.
1 - New England Patriots (LW: 1)
Death, taxes, you get it.
2 - New Orleans Saints (LW: 3)
They look very good for a team playing without Drew Brees.
3 - Kansas City Chiefs (LW: 2)
The fact that they lost and New Orleans won is what shakes things out like this, but the Chiefs are still among the league’s best.
4 - Green Bay Packers (LW: 7)
It’s time to take them seriously again. The Packers are one of the best teams in the NFC.
5 - San Francisco 49ers (LW: 8)
Obviously they’re undefeated, and maybe I’m a hair too low on them. I didn’t buy the 49ers hype over the offseason, but they look very good. They handled Cleveland.
6 - Seattle Seahawks (LW: 9)
Russell Wilson is playing like the league’s MVP at the moment. That whole division is insane.
7 - Philadelphia Eagles (LW: 6)
They’re obviously a very good team, it’s just that they played a bad team this past week while others had more impressive wins.
8 - Los Angeles Rams (LW: 4)
This is perhaps the lowest that people have been on Sean McVay’s team in some time. We’ll see how they respond after losing two in a row. Somebody else did that...
9 - Houston Texans (LW: 17)
Deshaun Watson is unreal.
10 - Dallas Cowboys (LW: 5)
Losing two in a row hurts, and especially considering the way Dallas lost to Green Bay. This is a rough week. This is a top 10 team that has beat themselves two times in a row.
11 - Baltimore Ravens (LW: 11)
They barley hung on to beat the Steelers, but Baltimore is the heavy favorite in the AFC North.
12 - Buffalo Bills (LW: 13)
We’re past the point of this being some fluke. The Bills are legit. That defense, especially.
13 - Indianapolis Colts (LW: 18)
The win over Kansas City was incredible, but this is a team that lost to Oakland just the week before. Who are the Colts going to be?
14 - Detroit Lions (LW: 12)
No game this past week.
15 - Minnesota Vikings (LW: 25)
It turns out fighting with each other may have saved them. Who knew?
16 - Chicago Bears (LW: 14)
Losing to the Raiders is a bad look.
17 - Carolina Panthers (LW: 15)
It’s going to be fascinating to see who they are when Cam Newton is back.
18 - Cleveland Browns (LW: 10)
Biggest disappointment of the season relative to how much hype they got.
19 - Los Angeles Chargers (LW: 16)
Forever the Chargers.
20 - Oakland Raiders (LW: 22)
They seem to be figuring things out under Jon Gruden. Weird.
21 - New York Giants (LW: 19)
Daniel Jones didn’t stay undefeated forever.
22 - Tampa Bay Buccaneers (LW: 20)
They hung in with New Orleans, but we’ll see if they can find their form once more.
23- Jacksonville Jaguars (LW: 23)
An impressive effort wasn’t enough to get it done. Gardner Minshew is definitely someone who’s going to hang around, though.
24- Tennessee Titans (LW: 21)
The Titans lost the week after a big win? No way!
25 - Pittsburgh Steelers (LW: 24)
Injuries are terrible.
26 - Denver Broncos (LW: 29)
Congratulations on finally getting a win. Well-earned.
27 - Arizona Cardinals (LW: 27)
Same goes for Arizona.
28 - Atlanta Falcons (LW: 26)
Yikes. The Falcons are bad. Really bad.
29 - Cincinnati Bengals (LW: 28)
Things are not going well in Cincinnati.
30 - New York Jets (LW: 30)
Sam Darnold is back, but unfortunately so is the rest of the team and their head coach.
31 - Washington Redskins (LW: 31)
Disaster. Losing their head coach likely doesn’t help.
32 - Miami Dolphins (LW: 32)
Disaster kings.
NFL.com: 8th (LW: 4th)
A fall for the Cowboys was inevitable.
Week 4’s prime-time loss at the Superdome was forgivable. Getting badly outplayed by the Packers in your own building on Sunday? That requires some introspection. Dak Prescott believes the Cowboys got overconfident after their 3-0 start. “I can say, sure, we might’ve sniffed ourselves a little bit too much.” Ohhhhh-kay. Prescott had a truly weird game against Green Bay. He made some brilliant throws, with an unreal 27-yard completion to Ezekiel Elliott on first-and-25 in the third quarter coming to mind. But he also threw three interceptions, including a back-breaker early in the fourth quarter when it appeared like Dallas might dig itself out of a huge hole. The Cowboys missed left tackle Tyron Smith (knee) and lost another key member of their line when right tackle La’el Collins exited with a sprained MCL. This is an ideal time for the winless Jets to show up on the schedule.
ESPN: 8th (LW: 5th)
Another nominee for number eight.
Gallup missed two games because of arthroscopic knee surgery, but he remains on pace for a 1,000-yard season. The Cowboys’ passing game is led by Amari Cooper, but Gallup has seen a jump in his production because of the trust Dak Prescott has in him. Gallup has two 100-yard performances in the three games he has played, putting him on pace for 64 receptions and 1,085 yards. He has hit the end zone just once, but if teams do more to take away Cooper, then Gallup is showing he can hurt defenses, too. There’s no reason to think he can’t continue this type of play. -- Todd Archer
Bleacher Report: 7th (LW: 4th)
B/R is a bit higher on the Cowboys.
Sports Illustrated: 12th (LW: 4th)
SI has the Cowboys outside of the top 10.
Here we go again. A second loss in a row to an NFC frontrunner prompts all the usual questions, but the NFC East is still up for grabs. The Jets should be a welcome reprieve.
USA Today: 13th (LW: 6th)
The lowest ranking for the Cowboys.
After feasting on Division II foes early in season, they draw D-III Jets on Sunday. But wobbling ‘Boys likely won’t enjoy any homecomings after that.
CBS Sports: 9th (LW: 5th)
The defense was indeed very bad.
Two consecutive losses have the Cowboys in a free fall. What happened to this team? The defense was horrible against the Packers.