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NFL Power Rankings Final: Dallas Cowboys Finish The Year At No. 13

The Cowboys finish the year outside of the playoffs and in the middle-of-the-pack.

After an unpredictable roller-coaster of a season, the Dallas Cowboys finished the year at 8-8 and No. 13 in the final SBNation NFL Power Rankings of 2011:

13. Dallas Cowboys (8-8, LW: 12): The truth about the Cowboys? They're an average, ordinary team. Not great and not horrible. Just average.

Not only did they finish with a .500 record, but they had a point differential of only +22 despite being involved in 16 games that totaled 716 points.

And while some will point to heart-breaking last-second losses to 13-3 New England, 10-6 Detroit and the 8-8 New York Jets as proof that the Cowboys are better than their regular-season record, they could just as easily point to last-second escapes against 5-11 Washington (twice) as well as 6-10 Miami as proof that Dallas is worse.

Now, with Jerry Jones firmly in head coach Jason Garrett's corner, the Cowboys owner/president/GM will need to upgrade the team's secondary and offensive line in the off-season.

For the latest news and analysis on the Cowboys off-season, check out Blogging The Boys.

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