3 heroes from the Cowboys’ 34-26 win over the Commanders

So many people stepped up for the Cowboys at Washington.

What a wild finish from Northwest Stadium on Sunday afternoon. After the Dallas Cowboys failed to put points on the board offensively as they’ve done all season, they suddenly erupted in the fourth quarter. The Cowboys’ back-and-forth affair with the Washington Commanders came down to the wire, and a much maligned and undermanned Cowboys team got the win on the road. Late-game heroics from likely and unlikely sources were part of the thrilling win. Here are three heroes from yesterday’s upset victory.

Josh Butler

Josh Butler might be the most interesting man in the league NFL fans have never heard of. If you are one of those people who were unfamiliar with him before yesterday, here’s a little backstory about him and the type of person he is.

Despite all the adversities Butler has been through, he was ready for his moment when his time came, and a performance like the one he had against the Commanders is something out of a Hollywood script. Butler started the game in place of the injured Trevon Diggs. Butler did a great job of keeping the Commanders’ top receiver, Terry McLaurin, in check for most of the game until the late-game coverage breakdown by much of the secondary.

Butler’s stat line is astounding: 12 tackles (10 solo) and three passes defended. Butler was technically sound and played physically with receivers at the point of the catch to knock the passes out of their hands. He very nearly intercepted a pass for Noah Brown and recorded a sack on the elusive Commanders quarterback, Jayden Daniels. The social media star/NFL defensive back, with over 3.3M followers on TikTok, earned a few more followers and snaps with his outstanding game.

The offensive line

Like Josh Butler and the secondary, the offensive line played through injuries without All-Pros Zack Martin and Tyler Smith. Also, the Cowboys were using a rotation at left tackle with Asim Richards and Tyler Guyton, which was challenging to maneuver and maintain continuity. Considering those less-than-ideal circumstances, the offensive line fared well and created enough opportunities to get the win.

The line opened holes for Rico Dowdle, and he had 86 rushing yards on 19 carries, which is one yard shy of his best performance of the season. In pass protection, they did a great job of keeping Cooper Rush clean and giving him adequate time to throw the football.

The adjusted unit only allowed one sack against the exotic pressures Dan Quinn and his defense could draw up. That is outstanding. With the time afforded to him by his offensive line, Rush completed 75% of his passes, and the offensive line did an exceptional job of picking up the blitz on Rush’s touchdown pass to Luke Schoonmaker.

Among the most impressive standouts was Brock Hoffman. He consistently opened lanes for Dowdle and cleared the middle of the pocket for Rush. Hoffman started in last season’s game at Washington, and his start Sunday was even better. T.J. Bass also did a good job of filling in at the other guard spot.

Micah Parsons

With all the excitement at the end of the game, it would be easy to overlook Micah Parsons’ impact on yesterday’s game. Since his return from injury, Parsons has had four sacks in his last three games. Against Washington, he had Jayden Daniels in his sights all afternoon. He sacked Jayden Daniels twice, including a play where Parsons managed to chase down Daniels before he could get on the edge to escape the pocket. Aside from rushing the passer, he also put Washington in negative yards by earning two tackles for loss. This pressure on Daniels is incredible.

Parsons is seemingly blocked out of the play but has the athleticism and speed to retrace back to quarterback and chase him out of bounds. Although many fans would have liked the team to have laid down and lost to Washington in the hope of a higher draft pick, Parsons had none of that in his thoughts following the game. Regarding his thoughts on the team tanking, here’s what Parsons had to say following the game:

“I’m not done yet. I don’t plan on tanking,” three-time All-Pro edge rusher Micah Parsons said, via The Athletic, postgame on Sunday. “If the higher-ups are looking for a draft pick, I hope that’s ruined, because we got a lot of football left to play. As long as I’m a part of this team, we’re always going to fight.”

In a season that was swirling down the drain, it’s refreshing to see Parsons’ words and effort were the antithesis of quitting with more games to play—a great game by Parsons for the win.