Blogging The Boys
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 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.
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...
