Andy BackstromContributing writerFri, November 28, 2025 at 7:20 PM UTC·3 min readThe Dallas Cowboys have won three games in a row. In that span, according to Pro Football Focus, defensive tackle Quinnen Williams has generated 21 pressures. The three-time Pro Bowler was responsible for 19 in eight games with the New York Jets earlier this season.
Since the Nov. 4 trade deadline, just before which the Cowboys traded the Jets defensive tackle Mazi Smith, a 2026 second-round pick and a 2027 first-round pick for Williams, he has wreaked utter havoc in opposing backfields.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementIt's an understatement to say Jerry Jones is pleased with the 6-foot-3, 303-pound behemoth.
The longtime Cowboys owner and general manager apparently wanted Williams on his team long before the deadline. He said Friday on 105.3 The Fan in Dallas that he offered the Jets a first-round pick and edge Micah Parsons for Williams when he was shopping the star pass rusher before the season started.
“I thought that much of Williams. He's showing you what he can do for a defense,” said Jones, who noted that a deal with New York didn't come to fruition at the time because the Jets didn't have the appropriate salary cap space to pay Parsons.
Looking for a contract extension from the Cowboys, Parsons found himself in a drama-filled standoff with Jones throughout this past offseason. Jones ultimately dealt the four-time Pro Bowl sack artist to the Green Bay Packers, with Dallas receiving three-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle Kenny Clark, a 2026 first-round pick and a 2027 first-round pick in exchange.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementUpon joining the Packers on Aug. 28, Parsons inked a four-year, $188 million deal with the team, including a reported $136 million of guaranteed money, that made him the highest-paid non-quarterback in NFL history. Parsons has thrived in Green Bay this season.
He's piled up 67 pressures, the second most of any player in the league in 2025, according to PFF. Parsons has also tallied 12.5 sacks, the third most in the NFL this season.
"Micah is very impactful, but we really hadn’t won with Micah,” Jones said Friday on 105.3 The Fan, per The Athletic. “Not because of Micah. We just hadn’t won because [the opponent] was able to work around us having Micah.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement"They ran right at him or they basically threw the ball quicker. Those are simplistic things. And there was no question that if we could replace him with four or five top players, [George] Pickens-type players … that was all in the thinking with Micah Parsons."
The Pickens trade is another one of Jones' crowning achievements this season. He sent a 2026 third-round pick and a 2027 fifth-round pick to the Pittsburgh Steelers in May for the 24-year-old wideout as well as a 2026 sixth-round pick. Pickens has responded to the tune of a career-high 1,142 receiving yards in 12 games.
As for Jones' remarks about Parsons, the Cowboys won 12 games each of his first three seasons in Dallas. They struggled to advance in the postseason, but that's been their problem for decades. The Cowboys' run defense has taken a step in the right direction this season yet is still ranked 22nd in the NFL.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThere's no question Williams is helping, though. In addition to the pressure he's generated on the interior, he's played a role in Dallas giving up a combined 209 rushing yards in three games, two of which came against last year's Super Bowl teams, the Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs.
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