The Dallas Cowboys' thrilling 36-24 win over the Washington Commanders had a little bit of everything, which is ironic because it was a brutal watch for the first three quarters.
On an afternoon littered with special teams miscues, it was fitting that Washington missed the game-tying extra point after Jayden Daniels' 86-yard touchdown to Terry McLaurin with 21 seconds left in regulation. The Cowboys' defense completely imploded on theTD, but that shouldn't take away from what was an incredible effort from Mike Zimmer's unit.
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The returns of DaRon Bland and Jourdan Lewis paid dividends in the secondary, while Micah Parsons, Osa Odighizuwa, Mazi Smith (!!) and Chauncey Golston anchored a fantastic game from the defensive line.
With Bland and Lewis not giving an inch in coverage, Daniels aimed to pick on former undrafted free agent Josh Butler. Making his second start in as many weeks due to injuries, Butler was more than up to the challenge. All he did was turn in one of the best games from a Cowboys UDFA in franchise history.
Cowboys cornerback Josh Butler was pivotal to Week 12 win over Commanders
While Butler gave up a lot of catches, he was fantastic in coverage. He broke up three passes and added a team-high 12 tackles and a sack to boot.
The Cowboys announced after the game that Butler's three pass breakups were the most by an undrafted Dallas player since 1994. The last undrafted Cowboy with three PBUs in a game was Sterling Moore in 2013 against the Packers.
Josh Butler has broken up three passes today, which ties the most pass breakups by an undrafted Cowboys player since 1994. The last undrafted Cowboy with three pass breakups in a game was Sterling Moore in 2013 against Green Bay (12/15).
— Dallas Cowboys Public Relations (@DallasCowboysPR) November 24, 2024
Again, this was Butler's second career start. He was signed to the active roster before last week's game against the Texans. His final year at Michigan State was in 2018 and he didn't play football professionally until 2023 with the Michigan Panthers of the United States Football League.
Butler's performance earned him an invite to Cowboys training camp. He has been cut multiple times, but he was signed to the practice squad in August.
With little experience, the Commanders smartly tested Butler to the tune of 12 targets, per Pro Football Focus. We have seen opposing quarterbacks avoid Trevon Diggs and pick on rookie Caelen Carson. The fifth-round pick has allowed chunk play after chunk play and he was benched on Sunday.
Jayden Daniels sought to do the same with Butler.
Bland was hardly heard from all game. It would have been a long afternoon for Zimmer's defense if Butler wasn't up to the challenge. Nobody would have batted an eye if the 28-year-old didn't perform, but he played a prominent role in the team's best defensive outing of the season.
Butler may need to stack impressive performances before we can say with absolute certainty he deserves a spot on next year's defense. Given the need for quality depth cornerbacks, though, he may have earned himself another year in the league with Sunday's display.
Regardless if Diggs is back for Thanksgiving, Butler needs to see significant playing time over the final six games. He might just be the Cowboys' latest diamond in the rough.