2023 NFL Week 11 Power Rankings: Dallas Cowboys rise to among the best teams

Another week has come and gone in the NFL and we are starting to develop a really clear picture of what the playoffs could wind up looking like.

Thankfully, it seems as if the Dallas Cowboys are going to be a legitimate part of that overall conversation. We have about two months to go until the regular season totally wraps up which means about eight weeks for chaos to properly ensue.

Where do the Cowboys stand right now, though? Heck where does anybody stand? As always we have laid out our thoughts in the latest edition of our power rankings and we have also gathered where outlets across the internet have the Cowboys ranked.

You can see last week’s rankings right here.

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1. Philadelphia Eagles, 8-1 (LW: 1)

We are all rooting for the Chiefs this week.

2. Kansas City Chiefs, 7-2 (LW: 3)

Speaking of, get it done this week.

3. Detroit Lions, 7-2 (LW: 4)

It is pretty fun how so many people believed in them and here they are.

4. San Francisco 49ers, 6-3 (LW: 9)

They were pissed off for a month and took it out on the poor Jaguars.

5. Dallas Cowboys, 6-3 (LW: 7)

Dropping 49 points is impressive regardless of who it is against. Time to keep taking care of business.

6. Baltimore Ravens, 7-3 (LW: 2)

They blew a 14-point lead on Sunday, twice in the same game. Doing so against a division rival is a tough scene and makes life complicated.

7. Cleveland Browns, 6-3 (LW: 10)

Obviously there are a lot of contenders but this seems like the best defense in the NFL.

8. Cincinnati Bengals, 5-4 (LW: 6)

It was very strange to see them pushed around and out-clutched.

9. Miami Dolphins, 6-3 (LW: 8)

Welcome back from the bye.

10. Seattle Seahawks, 6-3 (LW: 12)

A win is a win, but that was a bit too close for comfort.

11. Jacksonville Jaguars, 6-3 (LW: 5)

Believe us we know that getting blown out by the 49ers hardly means that you are a bad team, but to not show up at all was a really bad look for the Jags.

12. Houston Texans, 5-4 (LW: 15)

AFC South favorites?! Who says no? C.J. Stroud is amazing.

13. Minnesota Vikings, 6-4 (LW: 14)

This whole Joshua Dobbs thing is quite the story. They are such a tough group.

14. Buffalo Bills, 5-5 (LW: 11)

A total and complete disappointment of a team. It is hard to lose like that, but they did.

15. Los Angeles Chargers, 4-5 (LW: 13)

Yes, Justin Herbert was great, but what is it all for? This team is so insignificant.

16. Indianapolis Colts, 5-5 (LW: 17)

At least they won. That’s all there really is to say about what happened in Germany.

17. Pittsburgh Steelers, 6-3 (LW: 18)

How are they 6-3? It feels impossible.

18. Las Vegas Raiders, 5-4 (LW: 21)

Are we ready to write them out of the playoff conversation?

19. Washington Commanders, 4-6 (LW: 20)

Sam Howell leads the NFL in passing yards, but it feels so hollow. That was not a play on words.

20. Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 4-5 (LW: 22)

The NFC South is so bad.

21. New Orleans Saints, 5-5 (LW: 16)

See?

22. Denver Broncos, 4-5 (LW: 26)

Could they squeak into the playoffs? Probably not.

23. New York Jets, 4-5 (LW: 19)

It is a shame that they are going to let an elite defense go to waste like this.

24. Green Bay Packers, 3-6 (LW: 23)

Nobody feels bad for them.

25. Tennessee Titans, 3-6 (LW: 24)

These are some tough times.

26. Los Angeles Rams, 3-6 (LW: 25)

Perhaps Stafford can resuscitate things.

27. Arizona Cardinals, 2-8 (LW: 31)

Kyler Murray’s return was fun. Marvin Harrison Jr. is already used to wearing red, for what it is worth.

28. Atlanta Falcons, 4-6 (LW: 27)

It is amazing how broken of an offense they have despite all of the talent on and in it.

29. Chicago Bears, 3-7 (LW: 29)

Thankfully we do not have to watch them in primetime this week.

30. New England Patriots, 2-8 (LW: 28)

I’ve never seen anything like Bailey Zappe replacing Mac Jones in the final moments of the game. Everything is bad with New England right now.

31. Carolina Panthers, 1-8 (LW: 30)

See you on Sunday.

32. New York Giants, 2-8 (LW: 32)

The Dak Prescott-led Cowboys have beaten the Giants 12 times in a row.

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NFL.com: 7 (LW: 8)

Up one spot.

If you ask me who’s the best team in the NFL, I’ll say it’s the Cowboys (in the first half) at AT&T Stadium. In fact, I briefly mulled ranking 33 teams and listing “Cowboys (in the first half) at AT&T Stadium” at No. 1, but neither my editors nor you deserve that. Including Sunday’s shellacking of the Giants, Dallas has outscored opponents 107-22 in home first halves (after halftime, the team has been fine). Whatever the reason, the ‘Boys have so much more mojo at home, where they’ve now won their last 12 games. The problem? Dallas has work to do before thinking about home playoff games. But Dak Prescott, CeeDee Lamb and the passing game are humming right now, and Sunday was great for the run game, which pounded away at a tired Giants defense.

ESPN: 7 (LW: 9)

Same overall ranking. They also picked the biggest remaining game for each team and the choice is no shock.

Biggest remaining game: Week 14 vs. Philadelphia

If the Cowboys want to host at least one playoff game, they have to beat the Eagles. Of course, they need Philadelphia to stumble a little bit before and/or after since they currently trail their NFC East rival by two games. The Cowboys have won 12 straight at home and have outscored opponents 160-50 at AT&T Stadium. The Cowboys have beaten Philadelphia five straight times at home. But even if they win that game, their next three games after that are at Buffalo, at Miami and vs. Detroit — so it’s not clear sailing. — Todd Archer

USA Today: 7 (LW: 8)

Will 7 be the popular spot of everyone?

The last time Dallas had two receivers with 150+ yards in a game? How about 1985, with Doug Cosbie and Tony Hill. The last time WR CeeDee Lamb didn’t have 150+ yards in a game? Try October 16 (when he had just 117).

Yahoo: 7 (LW: 9)

Maybe so!

When you put up 640 yards against a bad team like Dallas did Sunday, everyone should put up big numbers. Yet, Tony Pollard had 55 yards on 15 carries. Backup Rico Dowdle had a better day (79 yards and a touchdown). For the season Pollard has 529 rushing yards, two touchdowns and a 3.9-yard average. And if he didn’t do much on Sunday against the Giants, it’s probably not happening this season.

CBS Sports: 4 (LW: 7)

Inside of the top 5. Ahead of San Francisco, too.

They took out their loss to the Eagles two weeks ago on the Giants. The Cowboys looked dominant in that game. But it was the Giants.

The Athletic: 12 (LW: 12)

No movement here. The five teams right in front of Dallas (in ascending order) are Jacksonville, Houston, Seattle, Cincinnati and Miami.

They also added levels of stability for each coach and went with “shaky” for Mike McCarthy for some reason.

Coach status: Shaky

Mike McCarthy is 30-13 in the regular season in the last three years as Cowboys coach. He sold Dallas owner Jerry Jones on the notion that giving him more control of the offense would result in better overall team play, and the formula worked Sunday for sure. They outgained the Giants 640-172 and outscored them 109-17 this season, but it hasn’t worked against the teams it will need to in the playoffs. Jones has been more patient with head coaches than his public persona would suggest, but McCarthy has won only one playoff game in Dallas.

Sports Illustrated: 7 (LW: 9)

Back to lucky number 7.

As emphatic a victory as the Cowboys had on Sunday, they need to get up on bad opponents quicker. This game was scoreless until late in the first quarter. This may seem like an unfair criticism, but what happens when the Cowboys are playing a Dolphins team capable of putting up 21 points in that span of time? Dallas turned the ball over on downs, punted after three plays and finally scored when they got advantageous field position on its third drive. On a night when Tommy DeVito is on the opposite sideline and the head coach and defensive coordinator are warring, you need to be up big much sooner.