FRISCO, Texas — Quinnen Williams knew the runner was not going to see him coming. The Dallas Cowboys defensive tackle said Wednesday at The Star that he was intentional about punching the ball out on the fumble he forced Sunday night.
At the two-minute warning of the second quarter, Williams punched the ball loose from behind and cornerback Shavon Revel recovered at the Dallas 19. It was the only one of four forced fumbles the Cowboys recovered in the 28-20 loss to the New York Giants.
“Just being intentional, intentional on it, knowing that the runner wasn’t going to see me and knowing that every single time I get a chance to punch at the ball, eventually one is going to come out,” Williams said.
Forcing turnovers is part of being a game changer, Williams said.
“Yeah, it did feel good. That’s a part of the things I think I can do more of and be a game changer on that aspect, ’cause I have the ability to do that,” Williams explained.
Quinnen Williams Says Forced Fumbles Will Bounce Dallas Cowboys’ Way
Rookie safety Caleb Downs stripped Jaxson Dart on a second-quarter sack, and Donovan Ezeiruaku knocked the ball loose from tight end Isaiah Likely in the first quarter. Cornerback Cobie Durant forced a fumble in the fourth quarter. New York recovered all three.
Williams expects the ball to start bouncing Dallas’ way if the defense keeps getting it out.
“I think when you come down to just keep getting the ball out, it’s going to bounce your way,” Williams said. “So keep being intentional, keep being critical on punching the ball out, and keep doing it.”
Quinnen Williams: Next 2 Weeks Are ‘Going To Be Zone Read’
Dallas did not execute against the zone read correctly Sunday, Williams said, and the next two weeks bring more of it. The Washington Commanders visit Sunday with Jayden Daniels. The Cowboys then face Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens in Rio de Janeiro on Sept. 27.
“Yeah, like I said, like having that in Week 1 when we, let’s say, we didn’t execute the zone read correctly on Sunday, it’s a big learning curve,” Williams said. “It’s a big learn for this week because we got the next two weeks going to be zone read also. So, like I said, man, like a lot of stuff that we did during Week 1, we can fix and we can grow from it and we can learn from it and just keep going throughout this season and keep getting better.”
Daniels is extremely dangerous, Williams said, and Washington has two good receivers and a good run game.
“Like you said, he’s extremely dangerous. They’ve got two receivers over there that’s really good, and they’ve got a run game that’s good also,” Williams said. “So I just think especially learning from what we did last week and growing and executing the communication is a big thing for this week also.”
Daniels completed 18-of-34 passes for 164 yards, 2 touchdowns, and no interceptions in a 24-22 loss at the Philadelphia Eagles and ran 5 times for 31 yards. Jacory Croskey-Merritt ran 16 times for 63 yards and a touchdown. New York ran 37 times for 165 yards against Dallas.
Kickoff Sunday at AT&T Stadium is 3:25 p.m. CT on FOX.
