Defensive tackle Quinnen Williams said he’s still learning all his teammates’ names and he’s not too sure about his team’s schedule, but the former Alabama All-American knew what to do in his first game for the Dallas Cowboys.
In Williams’ Dallas debut, the Cowboys defense yielded fewer points, total yards and rushing yards than it had in any other game this season in Monday night’s 33-16 victory over the Las Vegas Raiders.
Dallas acquired Williams from the New York Jets in an NFL trade on Nov. 3 in exchange for a second-round pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, a first-round pick in the 2027 NFL Draft and defensive tackle Mazi Smith.
“The biggest key was just getting in the playbook, get with the coaches, get with the defensive line, just learn from them, learn them,” Williams said on Westwood One’s radio broadcast of Monday night’s game. “I still don’t know a lot of guys’ names in the organization except the defensive line. Just try to get the chemistry going, get the things going when it comes down to rush plan, when it comes down to the game plan and things like that and just keep the main thing the main thing, and that’s: How can I help this team win football games?”
While playing 33 of Dallas’ 60 defensive snaps, Williams delivered four tackles, 1.5 sacks, one tackle for loss and five quarterback hits. The former Wenonah High School standout’s QB-hit total tied the single-game high in the NFL this season.
“I’m still trying to get ahold of everything and compartmentalize everything being in this Cowboys uniform,” Williams said, “but most importantly came out and kept the main thing the main thing. Got a chance to play with some great defensive players in Kenny Clark, Osa (Odighizuwa), that whole defensive-line room and the guys on defense, man. It was just an amazing opportunity to get a chance to play on a great team with great individuals.”
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The Cowboys came out of their bye week off back-to-back losses and improved to 4-5-1 with seven games remaining on their regular-season schedule.
Monday night’s loss dropped the Raiders to a 2-8 record. Dallas’ drive to get in the postseason race faces stiffer challenges with the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday, Kansas City Chiefs on Thanksgiving and Detroit Lions on Dec. 4 as the Cowboys’ next three opponents.
“We got to take it, especially me myself, we got to take it one day at a time,” Williams said, “and just get ready for the next week, get ready for, I believe, the Eagles. I haven’t even gotten a chance to look at the schedule. I’ve been trying to get the plays down pat so fast. Yeah, just take it one day at a time and continue to stack on the good things we did today, fix the bad things we did today and just keep going.”
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