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Week 12 NFL Power Rankings: Rising Cowboys Enter The Top 10

Improving young players on both sides of the ball and an easy schedule have the Cowboys thinking about an NFC East title.

LANDOVER, MD - NOVEMBER 20: DeMarco Murray #29 of the Dallas Cowboys carries the ball against London Fletcher #59 of the Washington Redskins at FedEx Field on November 20, 2011 in Landover, Maryland. (Photo by Scott Cunningham/Getty Images)
LANDOVER, MD - NOVEMBER 20: DeMarco Murray #29 of the Dallas Cowboys carries the ball against London Fletcher #59 of the Washington Redskins at FedEx Field on November 20, 2011 in Landover, Maryland. (Photo by Scott Cunningham/Getty Images)
Getty Images

On the heels of a three-game winning streak that has the Dallas Cowboys tied for first place in the NFC East, Dallas is now No. 10 in SBNation's latest NFL Power Rankings:

10. Dallas Cowboys (6-4, LW: 12): Impressive turnaround for the Cowboys. They were 2-3 at one point but now hold a share of the NFC East lead.

With the emergence of DeMarco Murray at RB and Tony Romo's recovery from a pair of broken ribs suffered earlier in the season, the Cowboys offense has been firing on all cylinders. 

The defense, meanwhile, has been a consistent strength for the team under new defensive coordinator Rob Ryan, with ILB Sean Lee emerging as a star, OLB DeMarcus Ware on pace to break the single-season sack record and CB's Orlando Scandrick and Terrence Newman bouncing back from an inconsistent 2010 season.

Yet Dallas still has not proven they can handle success, as a variety of special-team miscues in the punting game nearly cost them a game against a struggling Washington team last week.

With the Giants facing New Orleans and Green Bay the next two weeks while the Cowboys play Miami and Arizona, Dallas could have a commanding NFC East lead headed into their first game with New York on Week 14.

For the latest news and notes on America's Team, head over to Blogging The Boys

Photographs by jamesbrandon, jdtornow, phlezk, flygraphix, mcdlttx, tomasland, and literalbarrage used in background montage under Creative Commons. Thank you.