How good is it to be Jerry Jones right now? Not that it's ever that bad. The man is a gazillionaire who owns the Dallas Cowboys. Nevertheless, he's 83 years old and hasn't seen his team win anything of historic consequence in about three decades.
Dallas' personnel department has been busy all year. They shipped Micah Parsons to Green Bay and leveraged some of those assets before the trade deadline to score New York Jets superstar Quinnen Williams. It cost the Cowboys a 2026 second-round pick, a 2027 first-round selection, and 2023 first-round nose tackle Mazi Smith to close the deal.
Building a defense around a defensive tackle like Williams, as opposed to an elite edge rusher in Parsons, is a bold strategy, Cotton. Jerry is a believer in what he's done — and for good reason.
Jerry Jones gushes over Quinnen Williams' impact on Cowboys defense
As the Cowboys continue a rapid improvement on defense, it's becoming clear that Quinnen Williams is a game-wrecking force who was trapped on a floundering Jets franchise for his whole career to this point.
Now that Dallas is actually going all-in to win, and has the resources to make it all happen — not to mention a franchise quarterback in Dak Prescott — Williams is thriving.
Williams' dominance extends beyond his pure athletic skill set, though. In an interview on 105.3 The Fan in Dallas, Jones raved about the person Williams is and how his leadership translates to greatness on the gridiron (h/t ESPN's Todd Archer).
Jerry Jones on Quinnen Williams to @105thefan: “In my mind, Quinnen is not only just what you want in the middle and frankly he puts pressure there on the run and pass. But the most important thing is his football character and .. it’s off the charts.”
— Todd Archer (@toddarcher) December 2, 2025
Thanks to his gregarious personality, on-field prowess, and implied gratitude for not donning a Jets uniform anymore, Williams is becoming a huge hit among Cowboys fans. Jerry sees the impact.
Thursday night's game against the Lions in Detroit marks a watershed moment for the 'Boys and Williams. A quick turnaround against a dangerous adversary who's also fighting for their playoff lives? Hard to fathom spicier stakes for Week 14.
Lions quarterback Jared Goff better have his head on a swivel. This Williams-led Dallas defensive line wreaked absolute havoc on Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs on Thanksgiving, racking up 28 QB pressures. Williams contributed a team-high six of those, followed by dynamic rookie Donovan Ezeiruaku and Parsons trade chip Kenny Clark with five apiece.
As if that pass rushing production wasn't impressive enough, Williams has been just as good versus the run — or rather, discouraging foes from pounding the rock in the first place.
The Cowboys have the highest neutral pass rate allowed on defense since the Quinnen Williams trade. Teams just stopped trying to run.
— Hayden Winks (@HaydenWinks) December 3, 2025
Opposite for the Packers, ironically. pic.twitter.com/bZlBWCrKU3
After Jerry Jones watched Detroit dismantle the Cowboys 47-9 on his birthday last season, perhaps with Williams, it'll be different.
How's this for a mic-drop plot twist to close things out? Williams' 28th birthday looming on Friday, he can celebrate by being a big reason why Dallas claims victory this time around.