Quinnen Williams puts on a strong performance in Miami (Film)

Quinnen Williams made plenty of impressive plays against the Dolphins as he once again flashed his elite potential. With four stuffs in the run game, a pass deflection, an open-field stop in the passing game, a key pressure in the red zone, and a few more quality rush snaps that were mitigated by circumstances beyond his control (usually quick passes due to bad coverage), Quinnen Williams had himself a day in Miami, recording his third high-quality performance in six games to begin the 2020 season. Williams has clearly made some substantial progress off of his 2019 rookie season. His games against San Francisco, Denver, and Miami were each better than any individual performance he put forth as a rookie. The flashes of his elite potential are popping up far more frequently than they were in 2019. Let's take a look at Williams' impressive game against the Dolphins. Running game Williams had four tackles against the run that held the runner to two yards or less and no first down, tied for the most among defensive tackles in Week 6. As the 4i-technique on this play, Williams gets outside of the left tackle, stays low, and works his hands inside, driving the tackle deep into the backfield and creating an immediate angle to the running back on a handoff to the left side. Myles Gaskin attempts to cut outside, and Williams sheds to make the tackle for a two-yard loss. Williams lines up in the B-gap on this play, directly between the left tackle and left guard. He engages the left tackle and creates penetration while also maintaining extension so he can read the runner and play either gap. Williams peers inside through the B-gap, prompting Gaskin to cut outside, and Williams mirrors him as he sheds the block and makes the stop for a one-yard gain. This time lined up in the A-gap, Williams skips over to the opposite A-gap following the snap. He manages to get his hands into the upper body of the center and extend, positioning himself to easily disengage and play anything through that gap. Gaskin cuts into Williams' gap and Williams is able to shake free and make the diving stop for a two-yard gain on 2nd & 3, combining with John Franklin-Myers. As the 4i-technique, Williams anticipates the left tackle's cut block and easily dodges it, leaping over him and pursuing the play from behind to hold Matt Breida to a two-yard gain. Passing game Williams made some impact plays in the passing game, including a number of highly impressive pass-rush reps that flew under the radar. Williams lines up in the B-gap and rushes to the outside shoulder of the left tackle. Noticing that Ryan Fitzpatrick is loading up to throw in his direction, Williams throws his arm up before the ball even comes out, and he deflects the pass to bring up fourth down. Nice hustle play from Williams here, a staple of his game. Williams lines up as the 1-technique and attempts to beat the center to his opposite shoulder, but the rush is completely stymied and Williams is carried across the line. Fitzpatrick extends the play in the other direction, but Williams does not quit. After Fitzpatrick manages to shake free of Franklin-Myers, he flicks the ball to Shaheen, and Williams flies in to hold him to a four-yard gain on 1st & 10, saving a few yards. As I pointed out throughout my review of Williams' pass-rush performance in the 2019 season, many of a player's best rushes do not end up affecting the play due to circumstances beyond their control. Sometimes the stars align and a player gets plenty of chances throughout a game to turn his effective rushes into big plays, leading to a productive performance. More frequently, a player will not get those chances, limiting his production and seemingly make it appear as if he was unproductive even if he did a good job of handling the things within his control. Williams had only one pressure in this game, but that was largely because of the quick-release style of Miami's offense against a Jets defense that is struggling badly in coverage. Fitzpatrick averaged 2.23 seconds from snap-to-throw, equal to his overall season average that ranks third-fastest among qualified quarterbacks. Getting the ball out that quickly against a team that cannot cover, Miami made it extremely rare for the defensive front to get enough time to make a play on the quarterback. Nevertheless, Williams put some impressive pass-rush reps on tape. As the 4i-tech here, Williams engages the left guard, Ereck Flowers, who comes in aggressively and throws his punch in a hurry. Williams counters with a club, using his left arm to strike Flowers' inside shoulder. With Williams winning an inside angle, Flowers fully commits to closing down that lane. Williams plants himself and throws a hump move, this time using Flowers' momentum against him to toss him inside. By this point, Williams has created a clear lane to Fitzpatrick, but Fitzpatrick dumps the ball off quickly. Williams takes on Flowers again here, this time from the inside at the 2i-tech position. Flowers immediately leans forward and throws his hands, and Williams swats them away to expose Flowers' chest. Williams gets his left arm into Flowers' chest and takes full control, bulling him back with ease. If Fitzpatrick did not get the ball out so fast (1.9 seconds here), Williams would have blasted Flowers directly into his lap, likely forcing him to drift back into a sack by Bryce Huff, who had a great rush as he won with a rip and dipped his hips to bend around the edge. Here, Williams is the 4i-tech on the back side of a designed play action rollout. Williams engages the left guard and extends his left arm into the guard's inside shoulder. This creates plenty of penetration and also prevents the guard from getting his hands on Williams. Once Williams sees Fitzpatrick keep the ball and roll right, Williams brings his right arm over to clear the guard and pressure Fitzpatrick, who throws an incomplete pass in the end zone on third down. I'll pose the same rhetorical question that I did after Williams' performances against Denver and San Francisco - can he start to string games of this caliber together? Williams has become a very solid player, but he will not kick down the door and join the league's elites until he proves he can be a positive difference-maker on a weekly basis.