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Week 14 NFL Power Rankings: Blown Opportunity Looms Large As Cowboys Fall To No. 10

Dallas missed a golden chance to create some separation with the New York Giants before the two teams play this weekend.

After a tough 19-13 OT loss to Arizona that featured some controversial late-game decision-making by coach Jason Garrett and QB Tony Romo, the Dallas Cowboys have slipped to No. 10 in the latest batch of NFL Power Rankings from SBNation:

10. Dallas Cowboys (7-5, LW: 8): The Cowboys had a chance to take a commanding two-game division lead but Jason Garrett and the timeout fiasco prevented that from happening. You gotta beat a 4-7 team in Week 13 when you're leading your division. You just have to.

Now, instead of a nearly insurmountable two-game lead on the New York Giants headed into the two teams' pivotal Week 14 showdown, Dallas can lose control of first place with a loss this week.

A Cowboys secondary that has been exposed in recent weeks by Rex Grossman, Matt Moore and Kevin Kolb needs to regroup fast against the fourth-rated Giants passing offense, although CB Mike Jenkins could be a huge addition as he recovers from a hamstring injury.

Dallas has the lowest point differential (+39) of the NFC's four division leaders, but the rest of the NFC East is so weak, with the other three teams all in negative range, that the Cowboys are still in a great position to get their way into the playoffs.

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

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