{"id":478307,"date":"2026-10-27T16:38:12","date_gmt":"2026-10-27T16:38:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/478307\/"},"modified":"2026-10-27T16:38:12","modified_gmt":"2026-10-27T16:38:12","slug":"2026-nfl-week-8-power-rankings-dallas-cowboys-up-after-mnf-win","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/478307\/","title":{"rendered":"2026 NFL Week 8 Power Rankings: Dallas Cowboys up after MNF win"},"content":{"rendered":"

We are right around the corner from the halfway point of the 2026 NFL season. Where did the time go?<\/p>\n

Wherever it went, the Dallas Cowboys spent part of it driving us mad and now are on the verge of (hopefully) turning things around. We have to see as always, obviously.<\/p>\n

The first step in that process was winning on Monday night against the Philadelphia Eagles. Given the state of Philly though, that isn\u2019t obviously saying much.<\/p>\n

What exactly is the state of everyone involved here? Let\u2019s discuss in our weekly power rankings.<\/p>\n

1 – Buffalo Bills (LW: 2)<\/p>\n

Back from the bye. Let\u2019s see how it goes.<\/p>\n

2 – San Francisco 49ers (LW: 1)<\/p>\n

The stumbled for the first time, but it is a long season and we know better than to doubt them.<\/p>\n

3 – Detroit Lions (LW: 5)<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve said that I really doubted them entering this season. It is only Halloween week, but I\u2019ve got plenty of crow to share if anybody wants some.<\/p>\n

4 – Chicago Bears (LW: 9)<\/p>\n

They look very much like a contender with Caleb Williams back. Watch out.<\/p>\n

5 – Jacksonville Jaguars (LW: 6)<\/p>\n

Also back from the break.<\/p>\n

6 – Seattle Seahawks (LW: 11)<\/p>\n

It is clear that things are not fully perfect, but finding a way really matters.<\/p>\n

7 – New England Patriots (LW: 4)<\/p>\n

There is not a ton of shame in losing on the road against a top-tier team on a short week, but it still doesn\u2019t feel great.<\/p>\n

8 – Minnesota Vikings (LW: 12)<\/p>\n

Every now and then the final undefeated team is one that nobody really finds to be all that intimidating. Minnesota\u2019s defense is clearly very special. But they are hardly a juggernaut overall.<\/p>\n

9 – Cincinnati Bengals (LW: 13)<\/p>\n

They appear to be very much the real deal right now. Future winners of the AFC North, perhaps?<\/p>\n

10 – Baltimore Ravens (LW: 7)<\/p>\n

Huge analysis here, but Lamar Jackson is needed.<\/p>\n

11 – Atlanta Falcons (LW: 20)<\/p>\n

Maybe it is time to start taking the Falcons seriously. It is hard to gauge their overall ceiling, or floor for that matter, but they are clearly a team to monitor.<\/p>\n

12 – Kansas City Chiefs (LW: 3)<\/p>\n

People have written off Kansas City many times in their overall run. Maybe that\u2019s what\u2019s happening here, but it doesn\u2019t quite feel that way. It feels like they are still pretty good, just not as good as they have been before. They are hardly bottoming out. At least not yet.<\/p>\n

13 – Green Bay Packers (LW: 8)<\/p>\n

It is strange how they looked mortal a week after dominating the Cowboys.<\/p>\n

14 – Los Angeles Rams (LW: 18)<\/p>\n

A game against the Raiders will get things right on track.<\/p>\n

15 – New York Giants (LW: 23)<\/p>\n

They might truly and actually be the best team in the NFC East. It is very impressive how John Harbaugh has turned that ship around.<\/p>\n

16 – Denver Broncos (LW: 15)<\/p>\n

Winning at Arizona is fine, but we need to see more. Also we know the Cowboys are hardly one to talk about the Cardinals.<\/p>\n

17 – Cleveland Browns (LW: 16)<\/p>\n

Can they really sustain this? It is hard to believe so. Maybe, though.<\/p>\n

18 – Pittsburgh Steelers (LW: 17)<\/p>\n

Mike McCarthy keeps finding a way.<\/p>\n

19 – Tampa Bay Buccaneers (LW: 27)<\/p>\n

Baker Mayfield is back and so might be the Buccaneers.<\/p>\n

20 – Dallas Cowboys (LW: 24)<\/p>\n

Monday was nice. Now do it again.<\/p>\n

21 – Carolina Panthers (LW: 10)<\/p>\n

And it all came at their expense.<\/p>\n

22 – Houston Texans (LW: 14)<\/p>\n

Losses like theirs are why 0-4 starts are so devastating. You lose all room for error so when you drop another game, particularly in overtime, it hurts all the more because of how consequential it is.<\/p>\n

23 – Las Vegas Raiders (LW: 19)<\/p>\n

24 – New Orleans Saints (LW: 22)<\/p>\n

They have spunk. That\u2019s about it, though.<\/p>\n

25 – Arizona Cardinals (LW: 21)<\/p>\n

They are definitely beating the Cowboys, right?<\/p>\n

26 – Philadelphia Eagles (LW: 25)<\/p>\n

This team is pretty lifeless these days. Oh well.<\/p>\n

27 – Indianapolis Colts (LW: 26)<\/p>\n

28 – New York Jets (LW: 28)<\/p>\n

They have always been boring.<\/p>\n

29 – Washington Commanders (LW: 29)<\/p>\n

It has been over a full year since they won a game with Jayden Daniels.<\/p>\n

30 – Miami Dolphins (LW: 32)<\/p>\n

At least they won a game!<\/p>\n

31 – Tennessee Titans (LW: 30)<\/p>\n

32 – Los Angeles Chargers (LW: 31)<\/p>\n

The only winless team in the NFL. Hype them up more, though. Please.<\/p>\n

An interesting \u201cbest offseason addition\u201d choice.<\/p>\n

Best offseason addition: DT Otito Ogbonnia<\/p>\n

It wasn\u2019t supposed to be this way when the Cowboys put together their roster in the offseason. Their biggest free agent signing in a decade, safety Jalen Thompson, has missed the past four games because of a hamstring injury and hasn\u2019t made game-changing plays. First-round pick Caleb Downs has been OK at safety. The other first-round pick, edge rusher Malachi Lawrence, moved into the starting lineup in Week 6. Ogbonnia, who signed a modest one-year, $2.75 million deal, has been the Cowboys\u2019 best run defender up front over Quinnen Williams and Kenny Clark. — Todd Archer<\/p>\n

A little up, but at least some movement.<\/p>\n

While it\u2019s certainly not perfect, it appears the Cowboys\u2019 offense is back. Dallas racked up 400 yards of offense against the Eagles\u2019 defense — which is supposed to be Philadelphia\u2019s strength — on Monday night, and received some welcome contributions from its defense in the second half, capped by DeMarvion Overshown\u2019s diving interception. Javonte Williams cleared 130 yards on the ground, the CeeDee Lamb\/George Pickens connections with Dak Prescott were reestablished, and Dallas proved itself as the better team in this NFC East rivalry. Does that mean the Cowboys are back on track? No, but it\u2019s encouraging progress.<\/p>\n

Perhaps the most encouraging component of Monday night\u2019s win at Philadelphia was the full reawakening of RB Javonte Williams.<\/p>\n

As small a bump as possible here.<\/p>\n

There are still defensive problems. The Eagles, without several key starters on offense, including Jalen Hurts, moved the ball with ease on their first two drives that ended in touchdowns. But Dallas deserves credit for pitching a fourth-quarter shutout in a win it had to have. And the Cowboys\u2019 offense seems to be over whatever slump it was in.<\/p>\n

Head coach Brian Schottenheimer challenged the offense to find balance, and it responded with 204 rushing yards on 5.4 yards per attempt on Monday night. If the Cowboys can run the ball like that, they\u2019ll have a few more 38-point games. And they might need those types of games, unless the defense\u2019s fourth-quarter performance is a sign of improvement.<\/p>\n

Against the Eagles, that was the offense we expected to see from the Cowboys this season. If they can run it like that, they will be tough to beat.<\/p>\n

A little bit more of a climb.<\/p>\n

Something spooky: The NFC East<\/p>\n

Even with the Giants\u2019 surprising record, the Cowboys, after the way they played in Philadelphia, might be the favorites to win the division. Javonte Williams (155 yards rushing and a touchdown) was incredible, and Dak Prescott threw three touchdown passes.<\/p>\n

The best solution for a bad defense is an offense that stays on the field for as long as it can.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"We are right around the corner from the halfway point of the 2026 NFL season. Where did the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":478308,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[102,12508,104,103],"class_list":["post-478307","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-dallas","tag-dallas","tag-dallas-cowboys-power-rankings","tag-dallas-headlines","tag-dallas-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/478307","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=478307"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/478307\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/478308"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=478307"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=478307"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=478307"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}