How Cowboys' 'all-in' trade deadline moves for Quinnen Williams and Logan Wilson could set up playoff push

FRISCO, Texas -- After a disappointing 3-5-1 start to the 2025 season, the Dallas Cowboys' Week 10 bye week came at the perfect time. Why is that? Because it allowed for whoever Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones had lined up to acquire in a potential trade ahead of Tuesday's trade deadline to have a week to acclimate themselves with Dallas' personnel and playbook.

Jones decided to go "all-in" for real at the 2025 trade deadline: he first traded a seventh-round pick for Cincinnati Bengals Logan Wilson Tuesday morning before the main event Tuesday afternoon -- trading for 27-year-old, All-Pro New York Jets defensive tackle Quinnen Williams. He sent the Jets a 2026 second-round pick, the better one of the Cowboys' and Packers' 2027 first-round picks and 2023 first-round pick in defensive tackle Mazi Smith on Tuesday in exchange for Williams. 

That makes the timing of Dallas' bye week in Week 10 just right. Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott reminisced about Dallas acquiring wide receiver Amari Cooper over their Week 8 bye back in the 2018 season following a 3-4 start to the season after the team's 27-17 loss on "Monday Night Football" in Week 9. The Cowboys won seven of their final nine regular season games in 2018 en route to a 10-6 finish, good for an NFC East crown.

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"Yeah, especially if it's a big value guy who's going to come in and make a difference and be an impact, you can do so much good [over the bye]. I've been a part of one of those, I don't know how many years ago it was, but it was Amari Cooper. Signing him on the bye week or going into the bye week, and we were able to get something going a few weeks later," Prescott said postgame on Monday. "I know we lost the first week we had him on Monday night, but we ended up getting it back rolling and put together a streak. That's what this league's about: creating streaks. Win streaks and getting hot and putting yourself in a better position than you were at this moment. That's still in front of us. A lot of games left to be played. and we can still get a streak going.  Obviously, that would help, but I think as important as that, as anything, is us getting some answers to these issues that we have and getting healthy." 

That was a measured, thoughtful answer from Prescott on the importance of having the bye line up with the trade deadline. After running into him in the Cowboys' locker room on Tuesday afternoon after the trade for Williams, Prescott had a more fired up, off the cuff reaction to the news that the All-Pro defensive tackle is going to become his newest teammate.

"F---ing pumped, you can quote me on that," Prescott said Tuesday.

"I think it's just going to add more playmaking ability to the d-line," Cowboys defensive tackle Osa Odighizuwa said Tuesday. "Another bullet in the gun. Another very strong, and talented guy, so I think we'll be able to use him. ... I've seen his tape. I respect his game a lot. He's a baller, so I'm excited to have him on the team."  

Could the addition of Williams help power a similar push from the Cowboys going under .500 to a spot in the NFL postseason like Cooper's arrival did in 2018? Let's take a look at Dallas' remaining schedule and how they could potentially make legitimate effort to reach the postseason. 

Remaining schedule

Dallas currently ranks 21st out of the NFL's 32 teams in terms of odds to make the playoffs at +710 according to FanDuel Sportsbook. The Cowboys' second-half schedule entering Week 10 ranks as the 12th-easiest remaining schedule in the NFL, per Tankathon, so there is opportunity. A problem with how it's laid out is the desired winning streak Prescott mentioned won't be easy to cobble together.  FanDuel currently lists the Cowboys as 3.5-point road favorites at the Las Vegas Raiders in their first game out of the bye in Week 11, but then Dallas has a stretch of six games in a row against playoff teams from a season ago starting in Week 12 against the Philadelphia Eagles through Week 17 at the Washington Commanders. Washington doesn't look nearly as intimidating with 2024 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year Jayden Daniels dislocating his left elbow in Week 9 against the Seattle Seahawks. 

* Monday night
** Thursday night
*** Thanksgiving                                                                                                                                                                                        **** Christmas Day

Playoff push formula

Offensively, Dallas has it what needs to be a playoff-caliber squad, ranking as the fourth-best scoring offense (29.2 points per game) in the entire league. Prescott ranks fourth in the NFL in passing yards (2,319) and tied for third in passing touchdowns (17). Running back Javonte Williams' is the NFL's fourth-leading rusher (716 yards rushing) while his eight rushing touchdowns are the third-most in the league. Wide receiver George Pickens' 764 yards receiving are the third-most in football while his six receiving touchdowns are tied for the fourth-most in the NFL. Tight end Jake Ferguson's 56 catches are the sixth-most in the league while his six receiving touchdowns are tied for the fourth-most in football with Pickens and others. Dallas has all the offensive firepower it needs. 

They'll need steadier play from second-year left tackle Tyler Guyton (25 quarterback pressures allowed, tied for the sixth-most in the NFL) and veteran right tackle Terence Steele (22 quarterback pressures allowed, tied for the 13th-most in the NFL). However, Dallas is surrendering just the 10th-fewest overall quarterback pressure (34.2%), some of which can definitely be attributed to Prescott getting the ball out quickly. Overall, the offense is in good hands.

Through nine weeks, Dallas has been a defensive disaster, surrendering 30.8 points per game -- the second-most in the NFL. No team has ever made the postseason in NFL history when allowing 30 or more points per game in a season, so clearly change has to occur. Swapping in Wilson in the slot occupied by underachieving veterans like Kenneth Murray and Jack Sanborn should be a marginal upgrade, and Williams should increase Dallas' finishing ability when it comes to pass rushing. The Cowboys already ranked as a top 10 unit in quarterback pressure rate without Williams -- 39.8%, the ninth-best in the NFL. A big difference could come in Dallas' ability to convert more pressures into sacks as their 20 team sacks in 2025 rank slightly below league average, tied for 17th. 

The Cowboys' secondary remains battered by numerous injuries at both their safety and cornerback positions, but help is on the way. Third-round rookie cornerback Shavon Revel could make his NFL debut in Week 11 at the Raiders, per Schottenheimer, and explosive linebacker DeMarvion Overshown is also trending toward for a Week 11 return. Safeties Donovan Wilson (elbow/shoulder) and Juanyeh Thomas (migraines) could also be back after the bye. 

Overall, the pass gameplan in Dallas is to do what they did with Parsons once again with Williams: create so much quarterback pressure that opponents don't have enough time or options to carve them up through the air. The Cowboys led the NFL with a team quarterback pressure rate of 40.2% with Parsons on board from 2021 to 2024. In 2025, Dallas is currently allowing 254.4 passing yards per game, the third-most in the NFL. 

"Well, it [adding Williams] should hopefully allow for less time for the quarterback to stand back there and see what's going on. What it does is creates one-on-ones. There's no way to slide. If you're in a four-down front, we can send the center one way or the other. When you have five guys out there, you can't send the center anywhere," Schottenheimer said. "So your help will have to come from somewhere. Usually, you use a back. When you use a back, it limits how freely you can use that back. It creates a lot of problems honestly."

Williams can also be a difference maker against the run as his 13 runs stuffs for a loss or no gain are the second-most in the NFL this season, according to Next Gen Stats via NFL Research.  Dallas' 143.0 rushing yards per game allowed this season are the fourth-most in the league. 

"[Cowboys defensive line coach Aaron] Whitecotten said he's just an incredible all-around player, but he said that [Williams is] one of the best run stoppers he's ever been around," Schottenheimer said. "It's because of the relentless play style that he has, the way he's wired. I think that's something he's shown coming out of college and through his first couple of years in the league."   

The hope for Dallas to make the playoffs is that the defensive reinforcements in tandem with their top flight offense will be enough to get hot and go on a winning streak against a heavily backloaded schedule. Thanks to the up-and-down first half of 2025, the Cowboys are walking a tightrope with no margin for error the rest of the way. It's improbably but still within a remote realm of possibility coming out of their bye in Week 11. 

"No question... we don't have room for error. We are in a situation now where every game is critical, and we got to win the game. It starts by figuring some stuff out this week from a self-scout standpoint," Schottenheimer said. "That's where the focus is right now. The players are going to kind of reset, recharge, but we've got a week to figure out a lot of things. Also now, how to use and acclimate these [new] guys to the team."