Quinnen Williams didn’t hide from the mess after the Cowboys’ loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 5. He helped push for a defensive players-only meeting, then made it clear he wasn’t interested in spilling what was said behind closed doors.
“I'm going to keep that to myself,” said the veteran enforcer, as quoted by the Dallas Morning News' Calvin Watkins.
What Williams did share was the bigger picture: he put the struggling defense on his shoulders.
“I take full accountability and full responsibility for the way this defense is going at the moment. I took a break this weekend to reset, learn, grow, and focus on getting better,” shared Williams, as reported by DLLS Sports' Clarence Hill Jr.
It’s been a rough stretch for Dallas, which sits at 2-3 and is looking for answers on both sides of the ball. Williams has logged 15 total tackles, one sack and one forced fumble through five games, but the Cowboys’ problems have gone well beyond any one player’s stat line.
The numbers around the defense are ugly. Dallas is allowing 395.4 total yards per game, the second-most in the NFL, and 27.2 points per game, which lands in the bottom half of the league.
Still, coach Brian Schottenheimer backed the idea of the locker room hashing things out among themselves.
“I love it. I've said from the very beginning, the best teams I've ever been around are led by the locker room,” said Schottenheimer.
The Cowboys will try to steady things Sunday against the Green Bay Packers.
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