Power Rankings Round-Up: How NFL Moved During Cardinals' Bye

The Arizona Cardinals' 2-5 start hasn't done them any favors in either the real world or the realm of NFL power rankings.

Fresh off a bye week, the Cardinals are locked and loaded for a Monday Night Football battle with the Dallas Cowboys.

Here's where they stand after eight weeks of football, according to various outlets:

The Athletic: No. 25

Something scary: "Murray’s cap number is north of $43 million for each of the next three seasons, and there has been very little difference between him and backup Jacoby Brissett this year. Brissett, who has started two games, actually has a better EPA per dropback than Murray (0.08 versus 0.06), and Murray is 38-48-1 since being selected first overall in 2019."

On SI: No. 23

Should Cardinals buy or sell: "Neither. The Cardinals are 2-5 and poised to have somewhere around a top-10 pick, though their roster is simultaneously not good enough to turn things around while not being bad enough to warrant a fire sale. Arizona shouldn’t make moves until it has certainty at the quarterback position with Kyler Murray, though that won’t be decided until after the season.

ESPN: No. 24

Best offseason addition: Josh Sweat. "Backup quarterback Jacoby Brissett has a strong case. But since Arizona lost in both of his starts, Sweat becomes the best offseason acquisition. Sweat has made an instant impact on Arizona's defense, which has kept the Cardinals in a number of games while the offense has struggled. He has five sacks, two forced fumbles and a batted pass. More importantly, Sweat is one of the focal points for opposing offensive coordinators to game-plan around, which opens the pass rush for everyone else."

NFL.com: No. 24

Eric Edholm: "They’ll have had the bye week and an extra day to prepare for next Monday’s game at Dallas , which feels like a must-win. The Cardinals have dropped five straight by a total of 13 points, but that hasn’t made the losing any easier. That Cards fans now seem to be more behind  Jacoby Brissett , who started the past two losses, over  Kyler Murray  , the presumptive starter once his foot injury is healed, is quite telling. It’s imperative for Murray to regain ownership of this offense and this team down the stretch, or he could enter the offseason with serious questions swirling over his future in Arizona. He’ll have to do it against arguably the NFL’s toughest remaining schedule, which includes six of 10 games on the road."