DETROIT — It was a bitter ending to what should've been a sweet night for him and the Dallas Cowboys, but the fact remains Javonte Williams is in prime form. His final season with the Denver Broncos left him wondering if he'd ever get back to the level of dominance he showed not only at North Carolina, but as a rookie in the Mile High City, when he was named to the PFWA All-Rookie Team in 2021, signing on with the Dallas Cowboys this past March to try and regain himself.
A devastating knee injury in 2022 was the culprit behind much of his self-doubt, but that has all but melted away, three years later.
Williams' biggest question was answered in Week 14, and under the bright lights of Thursday Night Football against the Detroit Lions, when the 25-year-old surpassed the 1,000-yard rushing mark for the first time in his five-year career, though it was dampened by the 44-30 loss to end Dallas' winning streak.
"Yeah, I feel good, to finally reach that milestone after all the stuff that I've been through," Williams said. "But I wish we could've gotten win and played a little bit better, execute a little bit better on both sides, take care of the quarterback, protect the ball — we just need to execute better."
The former Tar Heel entered the contest needing only 46 rushing yards to hit and cross that threshold, and has now amassed 1,022 rushing yards with nine rushing touchdowns
It's been nothing short of a resurgent, impressive campaign for the former second-round pick who, in March, became the Cowboys' first free agency signing from outside of the building. Their belief in him has paid off in a major way, Williams going from being a part of a committee approach to quickly being named "the bell cow" in Dallas, and not long after the regular season got underway.
"Yeah, it's a good milestone," he said. "After all the hard work I put in, to finally reach it, it's a blessing. But I know I still have work to do. We still got a lot of games left, and a lot of football left for ourselves. We just got to keep our head down and keep going."
Williams' impact is felt on a weekly basis for a Cowboys' offense that was the worst in the entire NFL in rushing yards and rushing touchdowns one season ago, but now boast a top-5 running back in Williams who also has more rushing touchdowns (9) through Dec. 5 than the entire running back unit in Dallas had in 2024 (6) — also one of the best pass protecting running backs around.
"Love him, love him," said All-Pro quarterback Dak Prescott of the team's RB1. "Proud of him as a teammate, proud of his response and resilience. For me, just the injury, coming to a new team, and just the way that he stepped up and is having one hell of a year. His success on the field, and the teammate he is, and the guy that he is in meetings in the locker room — we're fortunate as hell to have him. And hopefully we can keep him."
Thanks to Williams, Prescott and his stable of receiving weapons have, at least more often than not, pushed opposing defenses to and beyond their breaking point.
Now back on track and having served notice to the NFL of what he can do, Williams understands the job isn't done, neither for him nor the Cowboys, as their hopes of landing a playoff berth hinge upon running the table, and then hoping for some outside help.
