It was not the reason they lost, of course, but for the Cowboys, their 34-26 loss to the Vikings on Sunday was made al the worse by the fact that star defensive lineman Quinnen Williams went out in the fourth quarter with concussion symptoms that could keep him out for a longer stretch depending on how quickly he can recover. Williams, head coach Brian Schottenheimer announced, is in the concussion protocol.
Williams gave the Cowboys a sterling start to the game on Sunday when teammate Donovan Wilson batted JJ McCarthy’s first pass of the night into the air, and Williams collected it for his second career interception. That set up an early Cowboys lead.
But Williams took a hit to the head in the second quarter and spent time in the medical tent for an evaluation. He was ruled eligible to return to the game that time, and he did. He took another blow in the fourth quarter, though, when he was hit by teammate Donovan Ezeiruaku.
Cowboys medical personnel came to the field and helped him off. Williams did not return that time and finished having played 31 snaps of 55 defensive snaps in the game.
Quinnen Williams Could Still Play on Sunday
Schottenheimer said after the game that Williams would be in the concussion protocol to start the week, and on Monday he said the Cowboys are still hopeful he could play on Sunday against the Chargers.
Last week, star receiver CeeDee Lamb started the week in concussion protocol but was cleared to play on Sunday.
“Next couple days. We’ll see, next couple days,” Schottenheimer said. “These things are all different. You saw what happened with CeeDee, you know, the next thing you know, he’s out there at practice on Wednesday. And you’re kinda like, ‘Wow.’ So, we’ll see.
“I will say this—I thought Q played outstanding yesterday. He was everything we thought he would be, so hopefully he’s OK.”
GettyDallas Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer
Cowboys Trade for Quinnen Williams Has Worked Out
Indeed, Williams, who arrived from the Jets in a deadline day trade with the Cowboys for a second-round pick next April, a first-round pick in 2027 and tackle Mazi Smith, has been a transformative piece for the Cowboys defense, though that defense came up short in consecutive losses to the Lions and Vikings, giving up a combined 78 points in those games.
Williams was effective on Sunday, rating as the best player on the defense by the Pro Football Focus grading system. He had three pressures on McCarthy and made three tackles in the game. His grade was 80.7 overall.
Cowboys Also Have Hunter Luepke in Concussion Protocol
In addition to Williams, the Cowboys are also monitoring Hunter Luepke, the fullback, who also has concussion symptoms and, Schottenheimer said, is in the NFL protocol. The Cowboys came out determined to use Luepke as a gadget player against the blitz-heavy Vikings on Sunday, and he had three carries for 16 yards–which matched the number of carries he’d had all year.
Luepke also had two receptions in the game before the concussion took him out.
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