LANDOVER, Md. – Cowboys cornerback Josh Butler turns 28 on Monday. He didn’t need to wait until his actual birthday to begin the celebration.

The undrafted defensive back turned in the best performance of his career Sunday – Butler contributed a game-high 12 tackles, three passes defensed and one sack during Dallas’ 34-26 victory over the Washington Commanders.

It’s been a long road for Butler, who originally signed to the Cowboys‘ practice squad in July 2023. He spent the past year and a half on the practice squad before he was promoted to the active roster for last week’s game against the Houston Texans.

Butler parlayed his opportunity into another stellar performance Sunday, as he helped the Cowboys end their five-game losing streak.

“I can’t say enough about Josh Butler,” Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy said. “He’s earned it. He’s had to wait a long time. And you just love it when these young guys get opportunities, and they’re rewarded with this type of win. … I’m just happy for him.”

Butler’s journey to this point is atypical.

The Dallas native graduated from West Mesquite High School and attended Michigan State, where he never really filled the stat sheet – Butler finished with 54 tackles and 11 passes defensed over 43 career games between 2015-2019. After he went undrafted, Butler bounced between developmental leagues, including the Spring League and the United Football League.

Somehow, Butler put together enough tape to convince the Cowboys to add him to their practice squad before the start of the 2023 season, more than four years after he departed Michigan State.

“How tough is it? I’ve waited almost five years,” Butler said. “It’s been a long journey, man. I came out of Michigan State in 2019. Through COVID, I moved to LA for three years, I got picked up with the UFL Michigan Panthers last year. On practice squad all last year … now being able to play for my home team and just going out there and dominating, honestly.”

Butler lined up on the opposite side of fellow cornerback Daron Bland, who made his season debut Sunday against the Commanders. In addition to Butler’s steadiness and patience, injuries to various secondary teammates is another reason why opportunity for him recently emerged.

Butler started in place of cornerback Trevon Diggs, who did not make the trip to Washington due to groin and knee injuries.

“Almost every play I was going crazy for [Butler], as if I made the play,” Bland said. “It’s great to see guys like that make the plays and don’t waste their opportunity.”

The Cowboys consistently forced rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels into tough spots. Although Washington’s offense picked up steam near the end, Daniels struggled to string together momentum against Dallas’ sticky coverage.

Cornerback Jourdan Lewis acknowledged defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer had more freedom with his play calls compared to recent games thanks to the performances from Bland and Butler on the outside.

“When you have guys out there who are full of confidence, you can just trust them,” Lewis said. “That puts another element to the defense where [Zimmer] can call things, get pressure on the quarterback and get those guys going up front.

It gives everybody a confidence boost. We feel like we can go out there and play one-on-one ball. That’s what we did, just being confident out there.”

Asked to grade Butler’s breakout performance, wide receiver CeeDee Lamb offered a wide smile

“[He’s] pretty nice,” Lamb said. “I told him to trust his instincts. He’s been practicing. He has a lot of reps on scout team. Seeing different things. Seeing different guys. So this is no different for him. For him to come up big for us on a lot of key third downs. He’s played phenomenal.”

Butler credited position coach Al Harris for sticking by his side. Some of Harris’ coaching points were on display Sunday, when Butler executed fine technique. On one of his pass breakups, Butler initially had outside leverage against receiver Noah Brown, who curled inward, but Butler recovered nicely by flipping his hips and reaching across Brown’s body to force the incompletion.

It was the type of moment from Butler that displayed just how far he’s come. Butler’s three passes defensed tied the most by an undrafted Cowboys player since 1994.

“I’m grateful for those opportunities that we have….We’ve got a long season ahead,” Butler said. “I was just flying around. Staying in it mentally was the biggest [obstacle] and to overcome that, it was hard. But at the end of the day, I know God got me, my family got my back, my friends got my support, and I appreciate every single one of them along this journey.”