Super Bowl LVIII has come and gone, and to the surprise of no one, the Kansas City Chiefs remain World Champions. Life is nice when you’re a member of a dynasty. We were already aware of this.
The focus for 31 other teams has clearly switched to ensuring that they are the only team pleased at the end of the 2024 season, and this will be visible soon with events such as the NFL Combine, the 2024 NFL Draft, and so on. As the dust settles from the previous season and we peel the plastic film off a new one, we can begin to speculate on who will be good again, who will surprise, and who will regress.
ESPN issued an offseason set of power rankings on Monday morning, and probably to your surprise, the Dallas Cowboys did not make the top five.
It is true that the Cowboys have been one of the more consistent teams in the NFL over the last thousand days or so, with three consecutive 12-5 seasons. Unfortunately, they have only one postseason victory in that time.
The text here mentions Mike McCarthy’s contract year, which has certainly put an interesting cloud over the season. It also mentions Dak Prescott potentially joining him in that role, though it appears more likely that he will receive an extension from the team sooner rather than later.
Here are the top ten teams, in order of power rankings:
- Baltimore Ravens
- Kansas City Chiefs
- San Francisco 49ers
- Detroit Lions
- Buffalo Bills
- Miami Dolphins
- Dallas Cowboys
- Philadelphia Eagles
- Houston Texans
the Cowboys are seventh overall, they are third among NFC clubs. They trail only their nemesis, the San Francisco 49ers, and the Detroit Lions, whom Dallas defeated in the penultimate week of the regular season (although with some controversy). It should be noted, however, that they were defeated by the Packers in the Wild Card Round, with Green Bay finishing as the last club in the top ten.
A lot will change before the regular season begins, but the Cowboys are anticipated to be competitive once again.
