Quinnen Williams isn’t dancing around the issue: the Dallas Cowboys need a sharper defensive answer, and they need it now.
With Dallas sitting at 2-4 and trying to shake off a rough opening stretch, Williams said Thursday that the pressure point is obvious. The Cowboys have been lifted by the offensive talent around Dak Prescott, CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens, but that side of the ball has not been enough to cover for the defense’s struggles after four losses in six games.
“Right now, we got a lot of stuff we need to fix, especially on the defensive side. I haven’t been playing to the standard that I want to be able to play it, to be able to be a game-changer. All that stuff right now is on my front focus on my mind, and doing the things that we know we can do, each and every day, to get better, and each and every Sunday, to win football games,” Williams said.
He followed that up with a message about where he believes he is headed, while also stressing that the defense has to raise its level as a group.
“I’m on the right trajectory, right direction to play how I know I can play. But just setting the standard, not only for me, but for this defense in general, and the ability that we have as a unit.
… We have the coaching staff and the players to achieve those goals that we want to achieve. We just got to continue to put our heads down and work.”
Dallas is third in the NFC East, ahead of the Washington Commanders but behind the Philadelphia Eagles and the New York Giants. In the NFC standings, the Cowboys are 12th, positioned above the Arizona Cardinals and the Los Angeles Rams and below the Eagles and the New Orleans Saints.
Now the task gets even tougher. The Cowboys are preparing for a road game against the Eagles in Week 7, with kickoff set for Oct. 26 at 8:15 p.m.
ET. For Williams and the rest of the defense, the assignment is clear: turn the talk about being a “game-changer” into something the Cowboys can actually lean on.
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George Pickens Put On Notice Before Cowboys Eagles Showdown
George Pickens has given the Cowboys the kind of perimeter production they expected when they brought him in, and Brian Schottenheimer is making it clear that the next step is about more than just catching passes. The Dallas coach pointed to Pickens work as a blocker in the run game, saying the receiver can help the offense in a different way by doing a better job of springing Javonte Williams and easing some of the pressure on the ground attack.
Pickens heads into the upcoming matchup with Philadelphia having already built a solid start to his Dallas tenure, with 33 catches, 428 yards and a touchdown. The Eagles game gives him another chance to show he can be a complete piece of the offense, not just a downfield threat, and for a Cowboys unit looking for every edge in the run game, that part of his assignment is suddenly front and center. [Read more 🡒]
Jerry Jones Just Turned Up The Heat On Brian Schottenheimer
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Jones said the discussion has focused on structure, schemes and play-calling rather than questions of effort or roster depth, which makes the temperature around the team feel a little different heading into a divisional spotlight game. For a coaching staff still trying to define its footing, that kind of feedback from the top is its own signal, and it leaves Dallas with plenty to prove against Philadelphia. [Read more 🡒]
Jerry Jones Faces A Cowboys Decision Fans Can't Ignore
The Cowboys are still sitting at 2-4, but the bigger picture in Dallas has not really changed: this team remains in the NFC East race and still has a path to the division if it can stabilize its offense. Offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer has already signaled that the club could act as a trade deadline buyer, which says plenty about how the front office views the gap between where the Cowboys are and where they expect to be by seasons end.
What makes the decision so tricky is that the offense has struggled even with healthy talent in place, leaving Dak Prescott and the passing game to shoulder far too much of the load. Dallas has leaned heavily on the air attack while the run game has not provided the kind of balance the staff wants, and that leaves Jerry Jones weighing whether a move is needed to help fix a problem that has been there since the early part of the season. [Read more 🡒]