Monday night was significant for the Dallas Cowboys. It was their first game out of the bye and their first opportunity to play with their two newest toys in Logan Wilson and Quinnen Williams. Both players
were acquired at the trade deadline which came during the team’s bye week.
With all due respect to Logan Wilson, the name that everybody was curious about seeing was Quinnen Williams. Dallas gave up significantly more to acquire Williams, and in the process of doing so gave themselves one of the best interior defensive linemen in the NFL. This is not something the Cowboys have been able to claim in some time.
Williams produced a sack and a half during his debut which leads the way for a lot of conversations about the game. That type of thing is natural.
It was noted by NFL Next Gen Stats that Williams had five pressures on the night off of 28 total pass rushes. This is impressive territory.
What is particularly notable about what Williams did is that all of his pressures came in the first half. The game was well in hand at intermission, and Williams’ performance (along with others obviously) in the second quarter was a big reason why.
This stands out because according to NGS the five pressures that Williams had in the first half was tied for the most pressures that any Cowboys defensive tackle has had in the first half of a game dating back to 2018. What’s more is that Williams was double-teamed 14 times (50% of the pass rushes) which was the second-most double teams he has faced in a game so far this season. We all know that all games prior to Monday night for him were with the New York Jets.
Expecting a handful of pressures every half would be ridiculous, but the overall takeaway here is that the Cowboys got exactly what they paid for early on. They sent a ton of draft capital to the Jets to acquire one of the best interior linemen in the game, someone who could serve as a rising tide to lift all boats, and that is exactly what happened. It is very exciting in terms of what is possible in the future.
