‘Be A Game Changer’: Quinnen Williams Admits He Has Not Played To His Standard As Dallas Cowboys Head To Philadelphia

FRISCO, Texas — Dallas Cowboys defensive tackle Quinnen Williams said Thursday that he has not played to his own standard this season, and that a 2-4 start has not added urgency around the fact that he has never reached the playoffs.

Williams is in his eighth NFL season. The New York Jets drafted him third overall in 2019, and none of his six and a half seasons there ended in the playoffs. Dallas traded a 2026 second-round pick, a 2027 first-round pick, and defensive tackle Mazi Smith to New York for him in November 2025, and the Cowboys finished 7-9-1.

“Not at all, not at all,” Williams said. “Right now we’ve got a lot of stuff we need to fix, especially on the defensive side. I haven’t been playing to the standard that I want to be able to play to be able to be a game changer.”

“So all that stuff right now is on the front focus of my mind and doing the things that we know we can do each and every day to get better and each and every Sunday to win football games,” Williams continued.

Williams signed a three-year, $105.9 million extension in August. He made four straight Pro Bowls from 2022 through 2025, and he had 12 sacks for the Jets in 2022.

The coaching staff and the players are in place for the defense to reach its goals, according to Williams, even though it has not reached them yet.

“My standard is just really high. I’m on the right trajectory, the right direction to play that high I know I can play,” Williams explained. “But just setting the standard, not only for me, but for this defense in general and the ability that we have as a unit.”

“We can achieve those and we haven’t achieved those yet, but we have the ability to achieve those. We have the coaching staff and the players to achieve those goals that we want to achieve,” Williams added. “And we just got to continue to put our heads down and work.”

Quinnen Williams On Kenny Clark And The Dallas Cowboys’ Pass Rush

Williams had a sack and 2 tackles for loss in the 23-13 loss to the Green Bay Packers on Oct. 18. Kenny Clark, who spent his first nine seasons with Green Bay before Dallas acquired him in the Micah Parsons trade in August 2025, sacked Jordan Love for a 10-yard loss on third-and-2. Dallas sacked Love 3 times.

Getting pressure on the quarterback is where Williams sees the defense improving most. He and Clark have focused on taking advantage of the chances they get to rush.

“I think basically just focusing on the development, focusing on getting better, focusing on not making the same mistakes that we’ve been making and learning from our mistakes,” Williams said. “And just taking advantage of the opportunity we have when we have the time to rush, be able to do the things that we know we can do, especially me and KC as a duo together.”

Rashan Gary had 3 quarterback hits at Green Bay. Hits and sacks are not the only measure for the defensive front, according to Williams.

“Just continue to learn and continue to grow from the negative things that we do wrong and the positive things that we do right, and to continue to build on the things we do right and fix the things we do wrong,” Williams said. “Being able to affect them in the best way we can is the main kind of objective and the goal, no matter if you get quarterback hits or sacks. I think that’s the biggest thing that we kind of focus on, is to truly be able to affect them.”

Green Bay ran 26 times for 57 yards against Dallas. First and second down are where Williams wants to be dominant against the run.

“Just being able to be consistent, being able to do the things that we need to do each and every down, especially on first and second down, me being dominant on first and second down,” Williams said. “Tito playing at a super high level right now at the run game and stuff like that, so having him on the field and just celebrating, man, just doing what we know we can do and play how we can play.”

Tito is defensive tackle Otito Ogbonnia, who signed with Dallas in March after four seasons with the Los Angeles Chargers.

Williams On Joey Porter Jr. And The Dallas Cowboys’ Swag

Dallas sent a 2028 second-round pick and a 2027 sixth-round pick to the Pittsburgh Steelers for cornerback Joey Porter Jr. on Oct. 1. Porter was the 32nd overall pick in 2023 out of Penn State and had started 41 of his 47 career games when Dallas traded for him.

“He’s unbelievable. I watched the film last week and to see him cover guys one on one and be able to, the energy that he brings and the celebration he do every time he lock somebody up is super dope to see,” Williams said. “And like I said, like last week, man, it’s all about getting our swag back and all about being consistent, and that’s one of the guys you see on tape every single day. He gonna play with swag, he gonna play with consistency.”

Opponents targeted Porter 4 times in his 61 snaps over his first two games with Dallas, according to Pro Football Focus figures cited by Cowboys On SI. Williams rushes the passer while Porter covers.

“Oh, 100%, man. It just gives you that extra second, that extra hitch,” Williams said. “And it’s really about being accountable and getting the quarterback down, being able to affect the quarterback when you’ve got a guy like that and the guys in the back end covering their tails also.”

The New York Giants lead the NFC East at 3-2-1. Dallas and the Philadelphia Eagles are both 2-4, with Dallas visiting Lincoln Financial Field on Monday night.

“It’s super important. It’s super important to be able to get back in that win column,” Williams said. “Super important to be able to win the football games every single week. I play this game to win, so yeah, super great opportunity to build on what we need to build on personally, as a defensive unit especially, and as a team. And I’m grateful for the next opportunity.”

Philadelphia will start Tanner McKee at quarterback for the second straight week. Kickoff is set for 7:15 p.m. CT on ESPN and ABC.