Jerry Jones caught flak for being a buyer at the deadline despite sitting at 3-5-1. It’s an understandable sentiment for Dallas to be aggressive in a season they’ll likely miss the playoffs in, but the acquisition of Jets DT Quinnen Williams was a bet to help now and for the long term.
The Dallas Defense Handles the Raiders
Dallas returned from their break on Monday Night Football against the hapless Las Vegas Raiders, winning dominantly 33-16. The Cowboys held their opponent to their lowest total on the season, including allowing just 27 total rushing yards. The Raiders aren’t a great litmus test, but it’s incredibly encouraging to see this defensive unit put together an excellent game.
This was easily Dallas’s best defensive effort of the season, earning a B- and 82.4 grade per PFSN’s Defensive Impact Metric. It’s not a coincidence that performance aligns with Quinnen Williams’ debut, who recorded 1.5 sacks and five QB hits in his Cowboys debut. He currently sits at 6th on PFSN’s DT Impact grading (85.2) on the year.
What Quinnen Williams Means Long Term
There’s no doubt that they’ve missed a domineering presence since they traded Micah Parsons before the season. Whether that was Jerry Jones getting cute or holding a grudge, he did make some amends by acquiring a playmaker like Williams. His presence not only set the tone but also allowed others to get into the backfield, with four team sacks against Vegas on Sunday.
Williams alone will unlikely be able to salvage this defense by season’s end. The New York Jets’ defense suffered greatly, even with Williams holding down the interior. Upcoming games against the Philadelphia Eagles, Kansas City Chiefs, and Detroit Lions will show us exactly how much further this unit has to go.
That said, there’s now a clear building block for rebuilding, and an outside chance at a postseason run. Whether that’s stacking more pass rush around him and rookie Donovan Ezeiruaku, or focusing on the secondary, the Cowboys now at least have an elite defender again to count on.
