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FRISCO, Texas — Any defense that does not have Quinnen Williams in its plans needs a second look, Dallas Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones said Tuesday. Two days earlier, Williams had 7 tackles, 3 tackles for loss, and a forced fumble in a 27-23 win over the Indianapolis Colts.
Jones made his case for Williams during his weekly Tuesday spot on 105.3 The Fan’s Shan & RJ show, after a host brought up the questions raised earlier this season about whether Williams fit what defensive coordinator Christian Parker wants to do.
Some of what Williams does never reaches the stat sheet, in Jones’ view, and it shows up instead in the cause and effect of how he wins.
“Well, if you don’t have Quinnen Williams in your plans or have a defense that gives him every opportunity, then you need to take a look at it because he’s [every bit] the player and the dominant player, the unique dominant player, at a very, very important position,” Jones said.
“If you can have what he gives us there in that interior, and the pressure that he creates, and sometimes you don’t see it in the stats, but you see it in the cause and effect of what he’s doing and how he’s winning,” Jones continued. “He’s outstanding. Boy, I’ll tell you what, I’m so proud we got him.”
Dallas was clinging to a 20-17 lead with just under 10 minutes to play when Indianapolis had a first-and-10 at the Cowboys’ 18-yard line. Williams shed a block, met Jonathan Taylor in the backfield for a loss, and knocked the ball loose for linebacker Shemar James to recover.
That stop was one of his 3 tackles for loss, which tied his career high for the second time this season, and his 7 tackles were the most on the team. He came into the week with 14 tackles for loss, more than anyone in the NFL.
Williams signed a $105.9 million extension with Dallas in August. Being a game changer for this defense is the job he has set for himself.
“I’m going in the right direction,” Williams said after the game. “I’m going in the right direction on what I want to be, what I want to do, how I want to affect teams. I want to be a game changer, especially on this defense.”
Christian Parker’s Defense And The Execution Message
Parker, 34, is in his first season calling a defense. His debut was a 28-20 loss to the New York Giants in Week 1, when New York went 4-for-4 in the red zone. Before the Week 6 trip to Green Bay, the Cowboys hired Mike Pettine as a senior defensive assistant to help Parker.
Williams had backed his coordinator publicly in October, after the Thursday night loss to Tampa Bay, when he said again and again that he had to watch the film on the defense’s struggles.
“100% faith,” Williams said of Parker at the time. “At the end of the day, we step in between those lines, and we’ve got to execute to the best of our ability every single down. No matter what CP calls, we’ve got to execute.”
Back in Week 4, Williams had a sack and 2 tackles for loss in a 34-30 win at Houston, where Dallas held the Texans to 62 rushing yards. He got to the quarterback twice more on Nov. 1, when Arizona beat Dallas 33-30 in overtime.
Arizona erased a 14-point fourth-quarter lead in that game. Execution was the word Williams kept coming back to all week, and again after the win in Indianapolis.
“Last week we executed for the first three quarters and didn’t execute in the [fourth] quarter,” Williams said. “And today, going into halftime, it was one of those same things. All about execution, all about going out there, playing physical and executing every single down, every single play that’s been called.”
What Dallas Gave Up For Quinnen Williams
Dallas paid the New York Jets a first-round pick, a second-round pick, and defensive tackle Mazi Smith for the Pro Bowler at last year’s deadline, just over a year ago.
For quarterback Dak Prescott, the trade has been about more than Sundays. Prescott spends his week one locker away from Williams, and the two talk about leadership on both sides of the ball.
“I don’t know if you can put it in words,” Prescott said. “Trade was made to get a player of his caliber, and he’s lived up to the expectations and then some each and every day. And just the way that he shows up, the way that he prepares, and then ultimately you see it on game day. The guy who loves this game, loves his teammates.”
“I’m fortunate to be a locker over from him, to have conversations throughout the week about leadership and how to get this side going versus our side going and what we need to do for the team,” Prescott continued. “[He’s] one of my favorite teammates all time, and super thankful for that guy for the way that he’s wired.”
Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer credited the push from Williams and Kenny Clark on the interior for the win.
“If there’s a better interior defensive lineman than him in the league, I haven’t been around one in a long time,” Schottenheimer said. “He’s just dominant, where he can change the game, and as a man, like I said, I think he and Kenny [Clark] inside, they really willed us to go get this victory, and the guys followed their lead because the push inside in the pocket was incredible.”
The Cowboys (4-5) host the San Francisco 49ers (7-1) on Sunday at AT&T Stadium. Kickoff is set for 3:25 p.m. CT on FOX.
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