With this week's loss to Seattle, the Cowboys have now dropped five straight games since Romo went down in week two versus the Eagles. Despite a free-fall in the win/loss column, this weeks power rankings aren't all doom and gloom.
Of the three power rankings surveyed this week, only one had the Cowboys losing ground. ESPN had the Cowboys tumbling six spots down to No. 26 and had this to say:
The Cowboys have now lost seven straight games in which Tony Romo did not start. Up next are the Eagles, against whom Romo broke his clavicle in Week 2.
NFL.com has the 'Boys hanging tight at No. 22 this week and still has them in the race with the underwhelming NFC East. Here's their take:
Matt Cassel sure looked fired up after a couple of nice runs against Seattle on Sunday. Thought he might moonwalk -- or pull off a dance-floor move from "Major Payne" -- after one of his first-down scampers. If only he could throw the ball so well ...
While the Dallas defense continues to perform, the Tony Romo-deficient offense painfully slogs its way through games. The Cowboys have gone 0-5 since their franchise QB went down, averaging just 17.2 points per game in that span. Romo is set to return from IR boomerang in Week 11, but will Dallas already be buried by then?
Well, here's the good news: The NFC East is wholly underwhelming. If you think 8-8 could be enough to take the division, then all is not lost quite yet. It'd sure be nice, though, if the Cowboys could at least win one of the next two games, handing the reins back to Romo with a 3-6 mark. Then it'd take five wins in Dallas' final seven games to reach .500. With Romo and the best defense in the division, that's not impossible.
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The biggest surprise of the week comes from FOX Sports. After this week's loss, they have the Cowboys moving up four spots to No. 17 with a surprisingly positive outlook. Here's what they had to say:
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In just three games, Greg Hardy has three sacks, an interception, a forced fumble and 12 tackles. Since taking over as the lead back, Darren McFadden has 275 total yards in two games. Can the team find a way to generate a passing offense to help squeak out a couple wins before Tony Romo returns?
There is definitely a weird vibe do this season and a surprising calm feeling around Valley Ranch. Any other season if the team were on a five-game losing streak, tensions would be high and staff would be on full alert. With the division up for grabs and Romo nearing his return, that's not the case. Now the team needs to win at least one of the next two to stay in the mix until Romo hits the field. It's looking more and more like this division could be decided in the last week or two of the season. Hopefully the Cowboys are in that fight.
