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The Dallas Cowboys lost on Sunday night, and as a result of that the hype that surrounded them before the season has started to dissipate. Many people picked the Cowboys to be a team in the mix for the Super Bowl this year, and while that is still very possible, the reality is that they were not a great football team last week.
Here is how the world has power ranked the Cowboys, including BTB. You can see Week 1’s power rankings right here. Here are Week 2’s.
1 - Kansas City Chiefs (LW: 1)
Kings stay kings.
2 - Baltimore Ravens (LW: 2)
The AFC Championship Game is going to be awesome.
3 - Seattle Seahawks (LW: 7)
They look like the best team in the NFC at the moment. Cowboys will be there in Week 3, fun.
4 - Buffalo Bills (LW: 6)
Josh Allen delivered on some of the hype. Can he carry it across the season?
5 - Green Bay Packers (LW: 11)
Seeing Aaron Rodgers flourish while McCarthy’s Cowboys lost was not enjoyable.
6 - New Orleans Saints (LW: 4)
Hardly vintage Drew Brees, but they are still strong contenders.
7 - Tennessee Titans (LW: 8)
Perhaps last season wasn’t a fluke. Monday night wasn’t pretty, but it was hard-fought.
8 - Pittsburgh Steelers (LW: 10)
Big Ben is back.
9 - New England Patriots (LW: 17)
Cam Newton and Bill Belichick are quite the pair.
10 - Los Angeles Rams (LW: 16)
Blah.
11 - Arizona Cardinals (LW: 22)
Kyler Murray is so much fun to watch.
12 - San Francisco 49ers (LW: 3)
A lot of people thought they would regress this year. It’s been one week (shout out BNL), but people are talking.
13 - Dallas Cowboys (LW: 5)
Flat. Disappointing. Flat. Ugh.
14 - Minnesota Vikings (LW: 9)
Perhaps they aren’t totally ready to take the crown away from the Packers.
15 - Tampa Bay Buccaneers (LW: 13)
This will be one of the most fun stories to watch for the next few months.
16 - Houston Texans (LW: 14)
They’ll be back. Deshaun Watson is too good for them not to be.
17 - Las Vegas Raiders (LW: 19)
A nice win here. Jason Witten even caught a pass!
18 - Los Angeles Chargers (LW: 21)
Any time you win because the other team missed a field goal, well, a win is a win.
19 - Philadelphia Eagles (LW: 12)
Injuries are not cool no matter who they happen to. They are a mess at the moment.
20 - Jacksonville Jaguars (LW: 32)
Tanking? What?!
21 - Indianapolis Colts (LW: 15)
It legitimately felt like Philip Rivers has been playing in Indy forever.
22 - Atlanta Falcons (LW: 18)
Our Week 2 opponent. They’ve got offense.
23 - Chicago Bears (LW: 25)
Enjoy the week, Mitchell Trubisky.
24 - Detroit Lions (LW: 28)
Probably still wildcard challengers when it’s all said and done.
25 - Miami Dolphins (LW: 26)
It’s so hard to make anything legitimate from this team.
26 - Washington Football Team (LW: 30)
The only undefeated team in the NFC East. Welcome to 2020.
27 - Cleveland Browns (LW: 20)
There is no hype. There is just the Browns.
28 - Cincinnati Bengals (LW: 29)
Joe Burrow should have gotten a win in his first game. He’ll be back.
29 - Denver Broncos (LW: 23)
Not exactly an impressive performance on Monday night.
30 - New York Jets (LW: 24)
Yikes.
31 - New York Giants (LW: 27)
Jason Garrett’s offense wasn’t exactly electrifying.
32 - Carolina Panthers (LW: 31)
Perhaps the true leaders in the Trevor Lawrence race?
NFL.com: 10 (LW: 7)
We’re starting off not so bad.
Cowboys fans will spend the week debating Mike McCarthy’s doomed decision to pass on a game-tying field goal in favor of a fourth-and-3 attempt in the fourth quarter. CeeDee Lamb was stopped short of the sticks on the ensuing pass play, and it turned out to be Dallas’ last, best chance in a frustrating 20-17 loss. “You have to trust your players,” McCarthy said after the game. The Cowboys got more bad news later when it was learned that linebacker Leighton Vander Esch is out six-to-eight weeks after suffering a broken collarbone. Vander Esch’s absence will test the limits of an already thin defense.
ESPN: 12 (LW: 5)
The worldwide leader has the Cowboys outside of the top 10.
Preseason ranking: 8
Best rookie debut: WR CeeDee Lamb
Maybe the first-rounder could have run his route on the ill-fated fourth-down play a little deeper, but Rams safety Jordan Fuller deserves more kudos than Lamb does blame. Lamb caught five passes on the six throws his way for 59 yards and had a 20-yard punt return. He also was penalized for a block in the back. Bigger days are ahead for Lamb, but as he did at Oklahoma, he showed the game is not too big for him. — Todd Archer
USA Today: 15 (LW: 11)
Middle of the pack. Hard to disagree.
15. Cowboys (11): Uninspiring Hollywood performance also included loss of two important supporting actors (LB Leighton Vander Esch, TE Blake Jarwin).
Bleacher Report: 17 (LW: 6)
Outside of the top half. No big deal.
The 2020 season was supposed to be different for the Dallas Cowboys. Under new head coach Mike McCarthy, Dallas’ days of underperforming were going to be in the past. The team was going to play up to its considerable potential and win the NFC East.
One week in, the Cowboys look distressingly familiar.
They were fine offensively against the Rams. Dak Prescott threw for 266 yards and a touchdown and Ezekiel Elliott piled up 127 total yards and two scores. But the new-look defense surrendered 422 total yards of offense to a Rams team that possessed the ball for more than 35 minutes.
It gets even worse for Dallas. Middle linebacker Leighton Vander Esch, who missed most of last season with a neck injury, suffered a broken collarbone in the game and was placed on injured reserve.
Linebacker is not a position group where the Cowboys could afford a significant injury.
Sporting News: 15 (LW: 11)
On and on we go.
The Cowboys with Mike McCarthy were about the same as the Cowboys with Jason Garrett — losing close games late because of falling short in the clutch finishing plays. Dak Prescott and Ezekiel Elliott keep doing their best, but blocking and defensive issues keep creeping in at wrong times.
Yahoo: 12 (LW: 6)
Same story.
The call on Michael Gallup was unfortunate, but officials missed a call on Aldon Smith’s hands to the face that resulted in a Dallas interception. Calls generally will even out. What the Cowboys need to be focused on is why their ballyhooed offense produced practically no explosive plays and just 17 points.
CBS Sports: 14 (LW: 11)
Belief is low right now.
Wasn’t the offense supposed to be explosive? The first game saw the Cowboys score 17 on the road. If they are to be a Super contender, they have to be better away from home.
Sports Illustrated: 11 (LW: 9)
Just outside of the top 10 here. It’s going to be an interesting week.
Everyone came out of Sunday night’s game talking about Michael Gallup’s OPI, but even before that play I thought it was notable how frequently Dak Prescott looked to Amari Cooper, throughout the game and on their crucial drive that fell short. He got more than double the number of targets of anyone else on the team, when I would have expected a little more balance. We all know this team has plenty of talent, but the injuries in Week 1 are a real concern.