Cowboys' Quinnen Williams posting historic numbers a year after trade from Jets

A little more than a year after the Dallas Cowboys sent two high draft picks to the New York Jets for Quinnen Williams, the defensive tackle has turned into the centerpiece of the defense and one of the main voices in the locker room. He says he still hasn't reached his best.

Through nine games, Williams leads Dallas with five sacks, 14 tackles for loss and two forced fumbles, and he is second on the team with 29 quarterback hurries, ESPN reported. ESPN notes that no Cowboys defensive tackle has ever had more tackles for loss through the first nine games of a season. He has at least two in each of his past four games, and the only Cowboy with a longer streak since the stat was first tracked in 1999 is DeMarcus Ware, who did it in five straight. Williams had three in last week's 27-23 win at Indianapolis. One was a fourth-quarter stop of Jonathan Taylor that knocked the ball loose for Shemar James to recover. Another dropped Taylor for a loss on the Colts' second-to-last drive, when Indianapolis was trying to run out the clock.

Coach Brian Schottenheimer didn't hold back. "If there's a better interior defensive lineman than him in the league, I haven't been around one in a long time," he told ESPN. Williams himself was more reserved. He described his 2022 season with the Jets, when he had 12 sacks, as his standard and wouldn't say what he thinks is still missing. His teammates voted him a captain, and before the win in Philadelphia he gave the pregame talk.

In 16 games with Dallas, Williams has 56 tackles, 6.5 sacks, 62 hurries and an interception. The trade cost a 2026 second-round pick and a 2027 first-rounder, and Yahoo Sports reports that defensive tackle Mazi Smith also went to New York. In training camp Williams signed a three-year, $105 million extension, so Dallas has committed heavily to the idea that he can lift a defense that has struggled.

What it means against San Francisco

Dallas needs that help. The Cowboys are 4-5 and have scored 246 points while allowing 236. That works out to about 26 points allowed per game, and opponents have scored 30 or more three times. Dallas has won two of its last three, at Philadelphia (38-21) and at Indianapolis, but those were road games. At home the team is 1-3, and the last game there was a 33-30 loss to Arizona. ESPN notes the NFC East race may be the Cowboys' only realistic route to the playoffs.

The 49ers come to AT&T Stadium on Sunday, Nov. 15, with the game on Fox. San Francisco is favored on this site's board, which tracks 12 venues. Novig has the 49ers at -194 on the moneyline and Dallas at +190. The spread varies by venue. Novig has San Francisco -4.5 at +108, while the best 49ers price anywhere is DraftKings at -3.5, -115. Novig has Dallas +4.5 at -113. The total sits at 55.5 on Novig, and Hard Rock Bet has the best under at 56, -110. Sportsbook hold ranges from 3.3% to 5.3% on the moneyline and 2.9% to 5.0% on the spread.

A total in the mid-50s suggests the market expects plenty of scoring, which puts the focus on Williams and the interior line. Dallas has three straight games of 27 or more points. Whether the Cowboys can win at home again may come down to how many San Francisco drives Williams can stall before they get going. Looking further ahead, Dallas is favored by 7.5 at home against Tennessee on Nov. 22.