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LANDOVER, Md. — You can almost always throw records out of the window whenever the Dallas Cowboys lock horns with the Washington Commanders in a bitter rivalry that stretches back to 1960 and the inception of the former, but the reality is, this time around, it's the latter that enters the matchup having enjoyed a more pleasant season.
Ravaged by injury, the Cowboys continually find themselves having to do without another key player and Week 12 was no different — Zack Martin, Tyler Smith and Trevon Diggs all ruled out — putting that much more pressure on Cooper Rush and his defensive counterparts to try and deliver an upset in the nation's capital.
The call was made, and it was answered.
Defensively, the Cowboys suffocated rookie sensation Jayden Daniels and Kliff Kingsbury's offense, giving Rush and the offense plenty of opportunities to wake up and start punching in the second half.
And here's a list of the biggest standouts from the upset in D.C.:
[This list is unranked.]
CeeDee Lamb, WR
It doesn't matter what the record is when it comes to the effort being shown by Lamb on a weekly basis. Hellbent on leading by example, he came out of the gates hot against the Commanders but, more to my point, he never mentally checked out when things didn't go well; and nothing proves this more than when Rush threw an interception to former Cowboys' defensive back Noah Igbinoghene in the second quarter that led to Lamb then laying a hit to force the fumble that was recovered by Hunter Luepke. The play was negated by pass interference on Igbinoghene, but the proof of Lamb's mental toughness wasn't.
Oh and by the way, add another record to his NFL career: the first receiver in league history with at least four receptions in 44 consecutive games, taking ownership from Michael Thomas.
Cooper Rush, QB
The previous two games, Rush's first two starts of the 2024 season following the season-ending injury to Dak Prescott, did not end well for him. He'd come alive in the third, however, and really began to turn the screws on a Commanders team that was being mauled by Dallas' defense for the entirety of the game. A third quarter touchdown toss to Jalen Tolbert and a late-game touchdown heave to Luke Schoonmaker that gave the Cowboys a 20-9 lead with less than five minutes remaining served as a reminder that he is one of the best backups in the league.
KaVontae Turpin, WR
Just when you thought it would be a dry affair, both teams came alive in the fourth quarter and it suddenly became a shootout after Daniels answered the touchdown to Luke Schoonmaker with a touchdown drive of his own, but that's when the Cowboys' special teams unit, one that struggle for much of the game, found the lightning bolt. It was Turpin, who executed one of the nastiest spin moves you'll ever see on a kick return (to answer Washington's answer) and avoid a bad play — instead turning it into a 99-yard return for a touchdown, the longest of the year and of his career.
One word: WOW.
Juanyeh Thomas, S
Anything you can do, I can do better, yes? That had to be the song playing in Thomas' mind after seeing what Turpin did, because the Commanders struck back with an improbable 86-yard strike to Terry McLaurin. But just when you thought the surprises in this game were over, there was Thomas to recover an onside kick attempt and running it back for a 43-yard touchdown return. It wasn't quite as long as Turpin's, but it was the absolute nail in the coffin to end the Cowboys' five-game losing streak — stunning the rival Commanders and Thomas' (and others') former defensive coordinator Dan Quinn in the process.
Micah Parsons, EDGE
Since his return from a high ankle sprain that cost him much of the season, Parsons has looked every bit like peak Lion. He led the defensive resurgence for a unit that suffered from slow starts early in the season and throughout most of it but, at Northwest Stadium, it was another fast start for Mike Zimmer's bunch. Parsons harassed Daniels every chance he got, and the Commanders' offense could muster just three points in the first half in large part because of him.
Chauncey Golston, DE
Fluids schmooids, amirite? Golston left the game at one point in the first half due to dehydration, but he wasn't gone for long. He'd get his IV, regenerate his cells and make his way back to the field with a vengeance. Was it a sack or a pressure that I'm referring to? Well, not this time, but rather it was Golston grabbing his first career interception after snatching a catch away from Brian Robinson Jr. in the second quarter, and had a critical stop on third down in the fourth. Not too shabby, my friend.
Josh Butler, CB
No Trevon Diggs. No Caelen Carson. A pitch count for DaRon Bland. Reading those three items, you'd think the Cowboys would be in dire straits at outside cornerback, but Butler had other ideas. He mounted an impressive showing against former Cowboys' receiver Noah Brown that, more often than not, led to Brown being locked down and out of Daniels' plan of attack. Two pass breaks ups in the first two quarters alone, both on third down (one slant and one deep route) to go along with a sack and he was a tackling machine, to boot. Yes, Butler came to play in the nation's capital.
DeMarvion Overshown, LB
A mainstay on this list, Overshown was again integral in what Zimmer was able to do in initially bottling up Daniels and the mobility of the rookie quarterback. If he wasn't pressuring Daniels into throwing the eventual interception by Golston, he was forcing the QB out of bounds in hot pursuit to earn yet another sack on the season. The explosive ability of Overshown is a gamechanger and that makes him a, you guessed it, gamebreaker for yet another week.
The Jalens, WR
For the first time this season, the Cowboys' offense was able to find the end zone for a touchdown and it was Tolbert who did the honors. He'd make up for an early drop, short-term amnesia being deployed effectively, to come alive as the quarters wore on and his route to open up himself for Cooper Rush ended an eight-play, 80-yard drive with a trip to paydirt that also gave the Cowboys their first lead of the game. With Brooks adding a 41-yard catch that led to a field goal, the young receivers showed Dallas wouldn't stop fighting.
Donovan Wilson + Eric Kendricks, S + LB
Needing a takeaway, something that's been rare for the Cowboys' defense this season but also increasingly more of a thing over the past couple of games or so, it was Wilson and Kendricks stepping up to the plate. After Brandon Aubrey extended the lead to four points in the middle of the fourth quarter, the Commanders desperately needed an answer that they wouldn't get. Daniels dropped back and completed a crosser to tight end John Bates that was punched out by Wilson with the effectiveness of a Mike Tyson hook in 1992. Out went the ball and Kendricks did the rest.
Brock Hoffman + T.J. Bass, OG
It felt as if Rush would have to live up to his surname on Sunday, with both Tyler Smith and Zack Martin sidelined due to injury and with Tyler Guyton playing through injury. Instead, Brock Hoffman and T.J. Bass played well above their pay grade against the Commanders, and Rush had plenty of time, more often than not, to operate and make the throws he needed to. Stepping in for two All-Pros is far from easy, but they got the job done.
