Williams recorded his first sack of the season last week against the Texans, and the Cowboys as a unit had two with Rashan Gary providing the other one. That was one of the areas that Williams saw the defense take a step forward.
“Getting a couple sacks last week, getting the quarterback down, that’s the biggest one that I can see,” Williams said. “Just getting better every single day, every single opportunity, stopping the run especially. Getting better at that and just continue the journey, continue moving forward.”
That will need to carry over into Tampa Bay, as the Buccaneers will send out UDFA rookie quarterback Jalon Daniels for his second straight start as Baker Mayfield deals with a right thumb injury.
Last week, Daniels rushed for 55 yards on eight carries. The Cowboys have allowed the most rushing yards to quarterbacks in the NFL so far this season, and now face another mobile option in Daniels. Williams knows the Dallas front has to be disciplined in their rush lanes.
“Just rushing all as one,” Williams said of how to contain another rushing QB in Daniels. “All four of us have got to be on the same page when we’re running games, when we’re just rushing straight and different things like that, and collapsing the pocket.”
Thursday night will mark the third game that the Cowboys have played in 11 days, the first of which was 10 hours away in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer said that his team is “tired” and “sore” heading into the quick turnaround as a whole. Williams, personally, disagreed.
“I’m not tired,” Williams said. “I love football, I look more forward to the opportunity and getting a chance to play again, get to play at prime time against a great team, against Todd Bowles. It’s an amazing opportunity for us.”
Quick turnarounds and short weeks are common for the Cowboys and something that they’ve been used to over the years, especially with a higher number of primetime games. Williams is used to it as well with his time in New York.
“I can only speak for myself, I can’t really speak for everybody in the locker room. I enjoy it, man,” Williams said. “I’ve done this before. At the Jets, we had three games in 10 days, and last year I believe we had three games in 11 days I believe here with the Cowboys. I’m kind of used to that. It’s pretty fun. I’m just looking for the next opportunity to get better and to be able to compete and to be able to win football games.”
As far as taking care of his body goes with less time to prepare for a game, not too much changes.
“Just stay in the same routine, the things that I do every single week, the things that I kind of attack every single day every single week. That’s about it.” Williams said.
The routine leads into tomorrow night against the 0-4 Buccaneers, who have the 27th ranked offense in the league in yards per game with 278.3. Can Williams and the Cowboys take another step forward?