Six Cowboys who delivered Sunday and are or should be part of the team's future

23 December 2024Last Update :
Six Cowboys who delivered Sunday and are or should be part of the team's future

ARLINGTON, Texas — By the time the Dallas Cowboys took the field Sunday night to host the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the season for the home team had already been dealt a nail in the coffin. With the Washington Commanders pulling off a last-second win over the Philadelphia Eagles, the Cowboys’ faint postseason hopes ended. The 2024 campaign will end at the conclusion of the regular season in two weeks at home against the Commanders.

Despite having nothing to gain, the Cowboys played an inspired brand of football. As Bucs wide receiver Mike Evans said after the game, “They played like they were trying to clinch playoffs and we didn’t.”

While some may look at the 26-24 win hurting the Cowboys’ draft position, the production on the field Sunday night was more important to the future success than a few draft slots. Many of the playmakers against the Bucs are under contract in 2025 and will be part of next year’s team. Others are on expiring deals but should be in consideration to extend their playing careers in Dallas.

Let’s look at three standouts from both categories who contributed to the win.

Already in the fold

Micah Parsons

There’s no question where the heartbeat of this defense lies. Parsons can be a game-wrecker any given week. One of the game-changing plays occurred on the first drive of the third quarter when the Bucs got the ball after the break, trailing 23-14. They moved to the Dallas 25-yard line before a holding penalty pushed them back to the 35, still on the cusp of field goal range. On second-and-19, Parsons strip-sacked Baker Mayfield and pushed the Bucs out range into a third-and-40. The Bucs punted and the Cowboys drove down for a crucial field goal on the ensuing drive.

Parsons made headlines this week for his comments about his looming contract extension. The Cowboys have Parsons in 2025 by virtue of the fifth-year option, but it’s hard to see a scenario in which Parsons plays in 2025 without a monster extension completed. The Cowboys need to reciprocate Parsons’ eagerness to find common ground and get an extension done.

DaRon Bland

The Cowboys are in a tricky situation with Bland, who will be entering the final year of his rookie deal in 2025. Because he was a fifth-round selection in 2022, there’s no fifth-year option. The front office has to make a decision soon. Bland arguably has been the team’s best cornerback but Dallas handed Trevon Diggs a five-year extension just months before Bland’s breakout 2023 season, so there’s already a big contract in the cornerback room.

But Bland’s effectiveness is impossible to ignore.

Against the Bucs, he nearly had a red zone interception early in the game. Bland was far from perfect against a tough assignment in the future Hall of Famer Evans, but he was consistently in position to make a play. Then, when the game was on the line, Bland made the play to end it.

The Bucs had nearly two minutes left to just get in field goal range and win the game. On the first play, Mayfield escaped and checked it down to running back Rachaad White. Bland could have just made the tackle and limited White to a 5-yard gain and kept the clock running but he attacked the ball. In one movement, Bland stripped the ball from White and recovered it, securing the Dallas win.

A cornerback doesn’t flip things for an entire team, and there’s been more to it than just Bland’s presence, but the Cowboys are 4-1 since he made his season debut.

Brandon Aubrey

The Cowboys signed Aubrey to a three-year deal in 2023, which means 2025 will be the final year for Aubrey before he’s in line for a new contract, too. The Cowboys could play it slow with Aubrey and use the franchise tag on him in the 2026 offseason but he’s a 29-year-old kicker who is one of the best, if not the best, player at his position.

“He is a true weapon,” quarterback Cooper Rush said. “We are definitely spoiled. … You take a sack, not too major. You think ‘Oh crap, we’re out of field goal range.’ You’re like, ‘Oh we’re on the 40.’ He says, he goes, ‘It’s good, it’s more yards for me.’ That’s what he said. So, it’s a weapon.”

The Kansas City Chiefs extended their stud kicker Harrison Butker this past offseason. The Cowboys would be wise to follow that path and get something done with Aubrey. He was lethal once again Sunday, converting all four of his field goal attempts, a couple of 58-yarders, a 53-yarder and a 49-yarder.

Expiring deals

Jourdan Lewis

There aren’t enough superlatives to shower Lewis with to not only explain his game, but his entire story. Two years ago, Lewis suffered a career-threatening foot injury. Since then, he’s been the rock of the Cowboys’ secondary, both with availability and ability.

Diggs missed most of last season, and about half of this year. Bland missed more than half of this season, too. Lewis has been the constant, and he’s been playing at a supremely high level, game in and game out. All things considered, Lewis’ play late in Sunday’s game may go down as the best of his rich career.

“You think about the injury he had, just to come back from that and the way he’s played the last two years, that (interception is) probably the biggest moment or the biggest play of the year,” McCarthy said. “That was huge.”

Trailing 26-17, the Bucs had moved to midfield. Mayfield took a deep shot to the end zone, where Lewis was one-on-one with Jalen McMillan. Lewis not only broke up the pass and avoided pass interference but he managed to make one of the best interceptions of the season. The Bucs’ offense was finding its groove and scored a touchdown on its next drive, so there’s a decent chance that drive doesn’t end well for Dallas if Lewis doesn’t make that play.

Lewis will be 30 when next season begins and the Cowboys have already paid Diggs big money and have a decision to make on the 25-year-old Bland. But Lewis is a culture-type of player who has as much of an impact in the locker room as he does on the field. In both cases, that impact is exemplary.

Cooper Rush

Sunday night may have been Rush’s best showing of the season, as he moved to 4-3 since taking over a 3-5 team from Dak Prescott in early November. Rush was dealing, completing at least one pass to eight receivers with a 20-plus yard gain to four of them. He played turnover-free ball (though a late fourth-quarter pass nearly ruined the party).

“It was going to be very important for him to play well, because of the pressure and just the overload schemes,” head coach Mike McCarthy said. “They stack it up against you in the run game. They challenge you to throw it.”

The Bucs have a solid run defense, which showed on the stat sheet as the Cowboys totaled 31 yards on 1.6 yards per carry. But Tampa Bay came in with the 30th-ranked pass defense and Rush took advantage, confidently and consistently carving them up with passes at every level. As we wrote last week, Rush is making a strong case to remain the Cowboys’ backup in 2025.

Chauncey Golston

The Cowboys will have decisions to make on the defensive line, which has been an area of need this year. Osa Odighizuwa will command a new deal and has shown his value this season. DeMarcus Lawrence’s future in Dallas is in question as his deal expires after he’s missed most of the season. The Cowboys will get Sam Williams back but it’s risky to count on him to be consistent. The Cowboys like what they have in Marshawn Kneeland but he has yet to announce his arrival to the NFL.

Golston has taken advantage of the increased role and had a solid game against the Bucs. His missed tackle on an early touchdown run may haunt him but he made up for it with a lot of good plays — against the run and pass. His finished with six tackles, a sack, a tackle for loss, pass deflection and a quarterback hit.

(Top photo of Cooper Rush: Tim Heitman / Imagn Images)