Cowboys DT Quinnen Williams Relishing 'Best Chance' for First Career Playoff Berth

The Dallas Cowboys' three-game winning streak has sparked a belief that the playoffs are within reach. There still remains a long ahead, but even the gap between Dallas and the Philadelphia Eagles, who are skidding on a two-game losing streak, has narrowed in the NFC East.

There's no question that Dallas' trade deadline acquisition Quinnen Williams has played a major factor into the defensive resurgence and organizational energy boost during this stretch.

For Williams, it's likely the greatest streak of momentum that he's enjoyed on a team-wide basis at the NFL level. His former New York Jets never had a winning record since drafting Williams third overall in 2019, and so far this season were playing poorly under a first-year head coach in Aaron Glenn.

When asked whether this is his "best chance at [the] playoffs he has ever had in his career," the All-Pro defensive tackle offered a one-word chuckle.

"Yeah," he said.

That checks out. Already in three weeks of action in Dallas, you could argue that Williams is on his most competitive team since his days with Alabama as a collegiate.

Under coach Nick Saban, all "Q" knew was winning. He won the coveted Outland Trophy for being the nation's best interior defensive lineman and topped off his last year with the Crimson Tide as a national champion and consensus All-American.

Flash forward to today, and Williams is playing like one of the best players in all of football since joining the Cowboys.

Since the trade deadline, Williams has ranked first among all interior defensive linemen in Pro Football Focus grade (90.8), quarterback pressures (21) and pass-rush win rate (27.1 percent). Those 21 pressures in three games are more than what he totaled in eight games this year with the Jets (19).

On Thanksgiving, Williams finished with one QB hit and four total tackles but missed on multiple opportunities to rack up his sack numbers against the elusive Super Bowl MVP Patrick Mahomes. Williams has already totaled 1.5 sacks out of his 2.5 on the year with Dallas.

As the Cowboys prepare for the Detroit Lions for Week 14 "Thursday Night Football", Williams is letting it be known that he's found a home within the Cowboys defensive line that has allowed him to play at his best.

“I just think I’m in the best position when it comes down to, win your one-on-one's," he said this week at The Star. "And then I got guys around me like Kenny Clark and Osa [Odighizuwa] that take advantage of their one-on-one's. Just the unit itself, it’s just firing on all cylinders and ballin', so it helps me just go out there and do my job to the best of my ability."

It will be Williams' presence alongside Clark and Odighizuwa clogging up running lanes that will keep Dallas competitive on defense. Since Williams' arrival, the Cowboys have given up the least amount of rushing yards in the league. In the first nine weeks, Dallas was a bottom-five defense against the run.

"Everybody executing," Williams said. "The coaches calling the plays, and the players on the field executing. Everybody's just doing their job to the best of their ability."

"Feel like we've been executing at a much higher level," Odighizuwa added about this recent resurgence. "Definitely feel like up front, we've been playing some of our best ball and being the D-line that we want to be. I feel like that's been very helpful."

There is still a job left to be done as the Lions, 7-5 on the season, are also in the hunt for the NFC Wild Card race. The duel-threat run game of Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery could be the biggest challenge this new-look line has faced.

A win would go a long way in propelling Dallas (6-5-1) up the rankings and staying within striking distance.

And for Williams, it's a chance to potentially earn his first taste of playoff experience.

We don't think he'll shy away from the opportunity.

"I think it's getting better week in and week out by the good things we've been doing as a unit," Williams said. "We still have a lot of things to clean up, a lot of things to get better in, but I think we're going in the right direction to be the defense that we want to be. We got a long way to go, but everybody's up for the task to achieve the goal that we want to achieve."