Wait, Even Noted Haters (Stephen A. Smith) Now Love the 6-1 Cowboys?
FRISCO - The Dallas Cowboys are making believers even out of the staunchest non-believers.
On ESPN Tuesday morning, notorious Cowboys hater Stephen A. Smith did the unthinkable. On his "A-List" ranking of the Top 5 NFL teams, Smith put the 6-1 Cowboys ... No. 1.
While this left co-host and former Cowboy Marcus Spears speechless and scrambling to replace his eyeballs back into his head, not everyone has come around to Smith's surprising thinking.
The Cowboys have rattled off six consecutive victories, adding to their first-place lead in the NFC East Division and looking every bit a playoff contender. With a 3.5-game lead, if the Cowboys continue to handle business, the division may be wrapped up at the end of November.
Around the NFL with three months left in the season, the final undefeated team fell (Arizona Cardinals) and the NFC conference continued to look like the superior.
Week 8 proved to be another exciting dose of football with big wins despite teams missing star players. Where do the Cowboys stack up in Sports Illustrated's Week Six Power Rankings?
Dallas sits at No. 6 following its thrilling 20-16 win in Minnesota, lead by back-up quarterback Cooper Rush on Sunday Night Football. Says SI of keeping Dallas out of the Top 5:
Make it five NFC teams in the top six! The Cowboys played it safe, holding Dak Prescott out of a primetime game and then survived without him. They’re a very good team in a very bad division, which means they have plenty of time to get right for the playoffs.
Rush's ability to make big throws in the clutch led Dallas to victory and showed that the Cowboys can survive without their star quarterback. However, coach Mike McCarthy plans to have Prescott take back the reins this Sunday. The MVP candidate was sorely missed. With Prescott, the Cowboys were on pace to be the highest-scoring team in franchise history at 34 points per game. Without him Sunday night, they failed to score a touchdown in the first half and managed just 20 points.
Hopes are high, as the Cowboys currently have the 4th-best odds (+950) to win this year's Super Bowl, according to FanDuel. ESPN's FPI has the Cowboys with the ninth-easiest remaining schedule. Next, Dallas next has two-straight home games against the Denver Broncos and Atlanta Falcons.
At the top of the power rankings: 1. Los Angeles Rams, 2. Green Bay Packers, 3. Buffalo Bills, 4. Arizona Cardinals, 5. Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
