Cowboys' Quinnen Williams makes presence felt 'immediately', alters Dallas' defensive trajectory

LAS VEGAS -- Dallas Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones knew he had to make major move at the NFL trade deadline in order to turn around his defense that allowed 30.8 points per game through the first nine games of the season.

That figure was the second-worst in the NFL and third-worst in Cowboys history through the first nine games of a season. That's why Jones went all in on All-Pro defensive tackle Quinnen Williams at the deadline and sent a 2026 second-round pick, a 2027 first-round pick and 2023 first-round pick defensive tackle Mazi Smith to the New York Jets to acquire his services. 

Through just one game with Williams, it appears Dallas may have hit the jackpot. Williams erupted for 1.5 sacks, including a nine-yard solo sack of quarterback Geno Smith and a career-high five quarterback hits in the Cowboys' 33-16 domination of the Las Vegas Raiders on "Monday Night Football" in Week 11. Dallas allowed a season-low in points allowed (16) and tied a season-high in sacks (five) Monday night. 

How quickly did the rest of Dallas' defensive line feel his presence on the field? Immediately.

"Immediately," Cowboys defensive tackle Osa Odighizuwa said postgame. "From the first play. I was able to feel his presence. ... You can definitely feel the difference. Obviously not getting as many double teams feels great."

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Dallas three-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle Kenny Clark is typically pretty level-headed and calm, but even the 10-year vet couldn't contain his excitement about how it felt playing next to Williams. 

"Man, awesome. Awesome. He's a dog man," Clark said. "I've been a fan of Q a long time since he been in college for real. To get a chance to play with somebody like this is huge. It's going to make all of us better. The front is nasty. I'm loving it."

Despite it being clear that Williams is a legitimate game changer, albeit in a one-game sample size, he humbly downplayed his own impact even though the difference he provides was clear to his teammates and anyone watching on Monday. 

"I don't think one guy could change anything. I think the team itself, the guys around, all 11 on the field and the coaching staff in general makes the difference. One man don't do anything. It's not golf. It's not tennis," Williams said. "Everybody in this organization has to do a job to the best of our abilities to win football games."

His impact created plenty of one-on-one opportunities, which led to edge rusher James Houston (one sack), Odighizuwa (one sack) and Clark (half a sack) all finding their way to Smith Monday night while Williams led the team with his one-and-a-half sacks. Defenses being unable to double team anyone when defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus deploys a five-man front with the trio of Williams, Clark and Odighuzuwa is a major boost to Dallas in both the run game and the pass game. 

"Yeah facts. Our five-down front is just nasty. ... They're going to double whoever, we're expected to win on the other side. We did that at a high level today," Clark said. 

In his 10th NFL season, Clark is comfortable declaring the 2025 Cowboys defensive line with himself, Williams and Odighizuwa is the most flexible group he's been a part of because of the interior defensive line talent between the three of them.

"I played with some really good players [with the Green Bay Packers], but just all three of us and us just being able to roll and play off each other. ... The fronts that we can get into, and it just being no drop off depending on who gets in or whatever the case may be, I never played with a front like this."

Williams, once again, refused to take the credit, pointing to everybody else as the reason why he had his career-high in quarterback hits (five) on Monday night. 

"I'm playing with some great individuals man. You got Kenny Clark. You got Osa. You got Eze [second-round rookie edge rusher Donovan Ezeiruaku], you got JD [edge rusher Jadeveon Clowney] over there man. So the guys around me are playing unbelievable. It helped me," Williams said postgame. "All I just kind of needed to was just do my job. It was that. Having a great group of guys around me, makes it easier for me."

That one of the reasons why it's easy for head coach Brian Schottenheimer to embrace Williams even though he's been a Cowboy for under two weeks.

"He's such a great guy, man. ... His professionalism never changed. He's a man of faith, a man of high values and just an incredible teammate," Schottenheimer said postgame. "The guys took to him, not surprised, both those guys, they took to both he and [linebacker] Logan [Wilson]. Yeah, Q [Quinnen Williams] was really good. He's a really good football player. We should keep him." 

Another element to Williams that is already flashing in Dallas is his work ethic. He went 22 days between Monday and the last time he played in Week 8 with the New York Jets because New York had a Week 9 bye and Dallas had a Week 10 bye. On the Sunday of Dallas' bye week, Williams went into the team facility to run through a solo mock game with the strength and conditioning staff, using medicine balls and other weights to simulate playing 30 to 40 snaps in an NFL football game. That's the type of work that got quarterback Dak Prescott's attention and the type of work that led to Williams being able to bull rush straight through the middle of the Raiders' offensive line for a nine-yard sack.

"I don't know if there's words for him. Special individual. From the moment he walked into the building, I've got a match and putting the time in taking care of the body. That's somebody that challenges me and just being a professional and inspires me in everything that he's doing," Prescott said postgame. "The conversations that we've had, discussing, what he expects out of an offense and the way that he plays, and vice versa. Super impressed with him. Obviously, I've known he's been a dude from playing against him and watching it, but to have him as a teammate now, we're very, very fortunate. And he's going to continue to be the man that he is, and he's raising everybody's focus intensity. You saw it tonight, and he's a leader." 

So what's next? Keep the good times rolling along the Dallas defensive front when the Cowboys host the NFC-leading, 8-2 Philadelphia Eagles at AT&T Stadium in Week 12. 

"It's excitement, it's positivity, but I want to keep stacking these performances and want to keep getting better week in and week out," Williams said. "That's just the main goal man: to keep getting better, keep stacking up the good things, fix the bad things and win football games."