Cooper Rush, Tershawn Wharton, Josh Butler among Secret Superstars for NFL Week 12

Yesterday at 01:07 PM

Which under-the-radar NFL players stepped up in Week 12? We have our list.

As any NFL season progresses, there will be more unheralded players who rise up from humble beginnings to become factors, and guys whose careers have gone sideways who somehow find the road back to relevance.

We like to celebrate these players every week in "Secret Superstars." This week, we have two Dallas Cowboys who were not expected to be as good as they were, the NFL's newest nuclear deep threat, and a defensive tackle who saved a kid from a nasty fall after he iced his team's win with a crucial quarterback pressure.

Cooper Rush, QB, Dallas Cowboys

The 2024 Dallas Cowboys have been a disaster in about 47 different directions, and their 4-7 record reflects that. Despite all the unnecessary distractions and shortfalls, there is still enough talent on this team to pull off wins against better teams, and that's what happened last Sunday when the Cowboys beat the Washington Commanders, 34-26. The main story of this game was the scoring near the end (five touchdowns in the last 5:16), and the special teams miscues mostly led by Commanders kicker Austin Seibert, who may have had the worst stretch of time for any kicker in NFL history

A nice sub-story was the performance of Dallas quarterback Cooper Rush. The Cowboys promoted Rush to starter over Trey Lance following Dak Prescott's season-ending hamstring injury in Week 9. Rush, a 2017 undrafted free agent from Central Michigan (go Chippewas), had never really resembled a starter in his NFL career, mostly bouncing from practice squads to active rosters.

But in this game, with a few bumbles aside, Rush looked quite a bit like a starter. He completed 24 of 32 passes for 247 yards, two touchdowns, and no interceptions. His passer rating of 117.6 was fifth-highest in the NFL in Week 12, and his EPA per Dropback of +0.20 also ranked fifth. And this wasn't all dink-and-dunk – Rush was making some pro throws out there.

"I thought Cooper did a great job managing the game," head coach Mike McCarthy said. "I thought the run game teed up some completions for him. I thought he was very decisive and was clean with that. We had some plays taken off us in the passing game because of penalties, but I thought he did a great job managing the game, and I think it was his best one so far."

Not that Rush's efforts will propel the Cowboys to the postseason – there's still a lot to overcome, starting with the head coach and the main guy up top — but Rush did give Dallas a brief respite in a season that's been too high on drama, and too low on defining performances on the field.

Bucky Irving, RB, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The Buccaneers have a three-headed hydra in their backfield with running backs Rachaad White, Sean Tucker, and Bucky Irving, the fourth-round rookie out of Oregon. While White and Tucker are perfectly serviceable players, it's Irving who has stood out the most this season, and pushed the most in all the right ways for more playing time. Irving has 338 snaps this season, and with that, he's put up 579 rushing yards and five rushing touchdowns on 108 carries, and 32 catches on 33 targets for 252 yards.

Last Sunday's thorough demolition of the putrid New York Giants was perhaps Irving's apex in versatility so far in his NFL career. He was just about impossible to stop, gaining a career-high 87 yards on the ground, and catching six passes for a career-high 64 yards. Whether as a rusher or receiver, Irving was blasting through Big Blue's defense with impunity.

Nick Westbrook-Ikhine, WR, Tennessee Titans

The 3-8 Titans aren't exactly playoff-ready this season, and quarterback Will Levis is still as YOLO as he's ever been, though the Week 10 Secret Superstar has put a few more good things together of late. The improvement in the passing game has been obvious, though it was a low bar to clear – Tennessee ranked 30th in Passing DVOA in the first half of the season through Week 9, and they've bumped that up to 20th since.

One primary reason for that is the emergence of fifth-year receiver Nick Westbrook-Ikhine as not only a deep threat, but a ridiculous, "Where the hell did THIS come from?" deep threat. Since Week 8 against the Detroit Lions, Westbrook-Ikhine has bagged targets on plays of 34 yards vs. Detroit, 99 yards against the Minnesota Vikings in Week 11, and 38 yards in last Sunday's 32-27 win over the Houston Texans. Statistically, and especially from a yards per deep catch perspective, that's given Westbrook-Ikhine some truly insane numbers to brag about.

Westbrook-Ikhine has been a deep receiver to a point for the Titans in previous years, so it's not like this recent stretch of vertical stuff came from outer space. But he's certainly accelerated his threat level to defenses, which may be something to build upon as the Titans claw their way back to relevance in future years. Westbrook-Ikhine re-upped with the team on a one-year, $2 million deal this offseason; they'd be wise to bring him back for 2025.

Dalvin Tomlinson, IDL, Cleveland Browns

It's nice when an under-the-radar player you've always liked goes off in a special way in a game. I've been a fan of Dalvin Tomlinson's since the Giants' 2017 second-round pick out of Alabama became a credible rotation player in his rookie season, and he's stood out at times through his years with the Vikings and Browns, as well.

But what happened against the Pittsburgh Steelers in last Thursday night's snow globe game at Cleveland's Huntington Bank Field was something altogether else, and this wasn't about the weather. Tomlinson played at a world-wrecking level, harassing and displacing just about every Pittsburgh offensive lineman to the tune of 10 total pressures – two quarterback hits and eight quarterback hurries.

Impressive numbers to be sure, but you really have to watch the tape to see how the 6-foot-3, 325-pound Tomlinson did to the Steelers' offense in Cleveland's 24-19 win. The number of Pittsburgh offensive plays that were demolished by Tomlinson before they could even begin? That was a transformational performance, and perhaps the best of Tomlinson's career.

It's not the first time this season the veteran has gone off – he had two sacks against the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 9 as he just wrecked L.A.'s interior offensive line – but this was truly special… especially when you watch Tomlinson beat opposing linemen up at a comical level.

Tershawn Wharton, IDL, Kansas City Chiefs

Sticking with the big guys, Wharton did a lot in Kansas City's narrow 30-27 win over the usually woeful (but improving) Carolina Panthers. The Chiefs were trying to stave off their second straight loss after a 10-0 start, and the Panthers were giving them all kinds of what-for.

With 4:46 left in the game, and the Chiefs up 27-19, Wharton peeled off a double team by center Cade Mays and left guard Damien Lewis. As Panthers quarterback Bryce Young moved to the right to escape pressure, the 6-foot-1, 285-pound Wharton chased Young all the way to the sideline, forcing a third-down incompletion, and a Panthers punt. Carolina came back to tie the game with a touchdown and two-point conversion from running back Chuba Hubbard with less than two minutes left in the game. Patrick Mahomes then did his usual ridiculous stuff to set up Kansas City's game-winning field goal as time elapsed, but there's a credible argument to be made that without Wharton's play, the game could have gone differently.

But that's not the only reason Wharton made Secret Superstars this week. He also made a crucial and amazing catch, when a Chiefs fan fell out of the stands, and Wharton grabbed the kid before he hit the ground as Wharton was walking off the field.

Now, there's a guy you want on your team in important moments.

Josh Butler, CB, Dallas Cowboys

Of all the players we've profiled in Secret Superstars this season, Butler may have had the most circuitous path to the NFL. The Dallas native went to Michigan State, but he was best-known for bringing his dogs, Roxy and Remi, onto the field for the Spartans' Senior Night presentation in 2019. Butler lost both of his parents during his collegiate career, and he wanted to represent with his canine family.

Any player who's pro-dog to that degree will have four legs up with the Secret Superstars staff, but it would be a while before Butler would see the NFL. He started his professional career with the Spring League in 2021, graduated to the Michigan Panthers of the USFL in 2023, and finally got his NFL shot when the Cowboys signed him later that year. Butler bounced from the practice squad to the active roster over and over, but he was finally elevated to his current role as a defender in Week 10 against the Philadelphia Eagles.

Last Sunday, in the Cowboys' aforementioned win over the Commanders, Butler played as if he should have been on the field all along. He allowed nine catches on 12 targets, which makes sense, as opposing quarterbacks are going to target the new guy. But he wasn't beaten to a grievous degree on any of those catches – not to the point where you'd think that his presence was a mistake – and he allowed just 87 yards and 19 yards after the catch.

Moreover, Butler's three pass breakups showed some interesting potential as a cornerback who can match receivers and jump routes in both press and off coverage.

"I can't say enough about Josh Butler," Mike McCarthy said postgame. "He's earned it. Had to wait a long time, so you just love it when these young guys get opportuni:es and are rewarded with this type of win. I'm just really happy for him."

As are we. We're sure that Roxy and Remi are, too.