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FRISCO, Texas — To me, my X-Men. Having a solid or better game in his debut for the Dallas Cowboys is one thing and, honestly, would've been acceptable when considering Quinnen Williams was coming off of a double bye week and also needed to learn a new playbook for defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus, but that's not what the First-team All-Pro defensive tackle did.
He stole the show, the stage and the building housing that stage; and this is only a mild exaggeration because, in reality, Williams was the biggest (no pun intended, maybe) driver to what the Cowboys' defensive unit was able to achieve at all three levels — plays made by the defensive line, linebackers and defensive backs.
Shall we discuss this further, exactly how impacftul the trade with the New York Jets has already become?
We shall.
Flying the QuinJet
The not-so-bottom line is that was the most complete outing of the season for Dallas' defense, and yes it does matter, contextually, that it was against a struggling Las Vegas Raiders' offense but, and here's a counterpoint I'd like you to tattoo across your chest, in reverse lettering, so you can read it whenever you look in the mirror:
The Cowboys' defense has been statistically the worst in the league all season, and allowed Russell Wilson to throw for nearly 500 yards, then allowing a struggling (at the time) Caleb Williams toss four touchdowns and 298 passing yards with a 142.6 passer rating, and then there's Bryce Love's three-touchdown game that occurred in the same contest wherein Rico Dowdle ran for 183 rushing yards (239 total yards from scrimmage).
Damn, that might be a little long for a tattoo — ah well.
My point is, at the moment, the needle (get it?) is pointing in the right direction; and Quinnen Williams plays a huge part in that simple fact. That said, let's break down exactly how impactful the three-time Pro Bowler was, the numbers revealing things most might've missed when watching Monday Night Football in real time.
[note: advanced stats via NGS]
Overall production
- Quinnen Williams - 5 pressures on 28 rushes (17.9%), 14 double teams drawn/DBL (50%), 5 QB hits, 1.5 sacks
Average Get-off time
- Maxx Crosby - 1.10s (30 pass rushes)
- Quinnen Williams - 1.08s (28 pass rushes)
Time to pressure
- Maxx Crosby - 3.60s
- Quinnen Williams - 2.45s (fastest of any Cowboys player and third fastest of anyone in that contest)
QB Pressure Over Expectation
- Quinnen Williams - +8.0% (highest of any Cowboys player), +2.6% when double teamed
Positive rush rate
- Quinnen Williams - 18 (64.3%)
I added Crosby in the categories wherein I truly needed to drive home precisely how unreal of an athlete Williams is: a 300-lb human with a quicker get-off than not only someone who's 40-50 pounds lighter, but a human that also happens to be Maxx [expletive] Crosby, a four-time Pro Bowler and two-time All-Pro defensive end who I could argue is a top-5 talent at the position.
Yes, Williams was quicker than him, and that's nuts — cashews, macadamias, almonds, walnuts and even chestnuts roasting on an open fire.
Whether he was facing a single blocker, which was only half of the time, or a double team, Williams performed well, and it led to others doing the same as matchups tilted in their favor, and also due to the intangible emotional component of "anything you can do, I can do better" that exists between brothers in competitive situations (something that gets lost in the numbers).
A 'Beast' of a Depth Chart
"Bro, you ain't gotta worry about me. I got [you]. Ii'm telling you, I'm a dawg. They gotta block me because I'm gonna get to the ball. You're gonna be free."
Those are the words DeMarvion Overshown said Quinnen Williams kept repeating to him in his debut, and Overshown's return to action, in Las Vegas. He's already making everyone beside and behind him better, and this all should — key word: should — continue going forward.
Using what they were able to do against the Raiders as as good confidence- and chemistry-builder for the new-look defense, they'll do their best to replicate their numbers from Week 11 into a much more daunting test in Week 12, when the defending champion Philadelphia Eagles fly into Dallas for a rematch of the Week 1 fight that narrowly dropped into the win column for Philly (yes, dropped).
Top Week 11 Defensive Line Contributions
- Osa Odighizuwa - 6 pressures on 32 rushes (18.8%), 14 double teams drawn (43.8%), 1 sack, 3 QB hits, QBPOE +6.0% when double teamed
- Kenny Clark - 2 pressures on 32 rushes (6.3%), 0.5 sack, 13 DBLs (40.6%), 1 QB hit
- James Houston - 2 QBP on 20 rushes (10%), 1 sack, 4 DBL (20%)
- Dante Fowler - 2 QBP on 11 rushes (18.2%), 0 DBL
- Donovan Ezeiruaku - 2 TFLs, 1 safety
- Jadeveon Clowney - 5 pressures on 22 rushes (22.7%), 1 DBL
I truly cannot stress this enough: the Raiders are not the Eagles.
Also true, in any context: this Cowboys' defense isn't the same as it was before the bye week, and to think they're about to get another impressive talent ready to make his eventual debut for Eberflus and head coach Brian Schottenheimer, namely former All-UFL talent Perrion Winfrey.
Winfrey was activated to the roster from injured reserve ahead of the matchup against the Eagles, and his addition makes for a wildly different defensive tackles depth chart in Dallas.
Week 1 DT Depth Chart
- Kenny Clark
- Osa Odighizuwa
- Solomon Thomas
- Mazi Smith
- Jay Toia
Week 12 DT Depth Chart
- Quinnen Williams
- Kenny Clark
- Osa Odighizuwa
- Solomon Thomas
- Perrion Winfrey
- Jay Toia
That's a total of six Pro Bowls atop the depth chart from Williams (27) and Clark, and Clark only recently turned 30 years old on October 4, plenty of prime football remaining in both, and the latter applies to Odighizuwa (27) and Thomas (turned 30 in August) as well. Winfrey (turned 25 in August) helps round out a bunch that is as beastly as it is young and talented, with a promising rookie draft pick in Jay Toia (22) having a chance to not only add to the suddenly insane depth at the position, but to also learn from and develop under some of the best — and Williams is arguably the best — at the defensive tackle position.
And with him now in North Texas, Cowboys' fans who once, and for so long, rightfully lusted for the type of defensive front that exists in Philly can now swipe left on that and swipe right on the one they get to brag about and call their very own from now on.
The X-Men are in Dallas now, and they bought the QuinJet from New York. ;-)
