‘Can’t Talk Enough About Quinnen’: Brian Schottenheimer Praises Quinnen Williams As Dallas Cowboys’ Pass Rush Shows Progress
FRISCO, Texas — Dallas Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer said Monday that defensive tackle Quinnen Williams played outstanding in Sunday’s 33-30 overtime loss to the Arizona Cardinals. Schottenheimer pointed to the pass rush as the first thing the Cowboys have solved this season.
Williams had 7 tackles and 2 sacks, and Dallas sacked Arizona quarterbacks 5 times for 42 yards. The Cowboys have talked about being problem solvers, and Schottenheimer said the pressure packages showed it.
“Again, I think the first thing I would say is you look at our ability to rush the passer yesterday, that was something that we got better at,” Schottenheimer said. “Again, can’t talk enough about Quinnen. I thought you saw some really good pressure packages from us yesterday. That’s the first thing I would point to.”
Quinnen Williams Leads Dallas Cowboys’ Five-Sack Day
Linebacker James Houston IV sacked Jacoby Brissett for a 3-yard loss in the first quarter, and Shemar James intercepted Brissett on the next snap and returned it 33 yards to the Arizona 5. Dallas scored two plays later. Brissett was sacked 4 times before Arizona replaced him with Gardner Minshew II late in the third quarter.
Minshew was sacked once, by Williams on Arizona’s first snap of overtime, and the Cardinals punted after three plays. Dallas acquired Williams, a three-time Pro Bowler and the third overall pick in 2019, from the New York Jets at the 2025 trade deadline for a 2026 second-round pick, a 2027 first-round pick, and defensive tackle Mazi Smith.
Schottenheimer said the way to diagnose the Cowboys’ inconsistency is to break each phase into its smallest parts. The pressure on the quarterback was one of the good things he found.
“Yeah, again, I think this is a situation where you have to break it down into its smallest parts. You look at the run game. What are the areas there that we need to be more consistent in? Let’s look at the pass coverage. Let’s look at the pressure on the quarterback,” Schottenheimer explained. “We got some really good pressure yesterday on the quarterback. I thought Quinnen Williams played outstanding. Von got a sack. There were some really good things to look at.”
Stephen Jones Points To Pressure Before Arizona Cardinals’ Comeback
Cowboys COO and executive vice president Stephen Jones said Monday on 105.3 The Fan’s “K&C Masterpiece” that the defense limited Arizona’s run game and got pressure for most of three quarters. Arizona had 136 total yards in the first half and 286 after it.
“Defensively where I saw improvement is we were able to really limit their running game early on in the first half and first drive of the second half,” Jones said. “We were able to limit their run. We actually did a good job getting pressure through that period of time. I think we had a couple of sacks.”
Minshew went 17-of-23 for 188 yards, 3 touchdowns, and 0 interceptions, with all three scores coming in the fourth quarter. Dallas is 3-5 and visits the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday, Nov. 8, at Lucas Oil Stadium, with kickoff set for noon CT on FOX.
