Week 18 ended with Quinnem Williams dominating the headlines. The defender landed a rough hit on Jaxson Dart and drew a flag on a play that remained in focus even after both teams wrapped up their seasons. Brian Schottenheimer leaned towards a difference in interpretation, but agreed on one thing.

“I do think that he (Dart) slid a little bit late,” the head coach said after the loss when asked about why, even in Week 18, the defense is still committing late penalties. “You know, that’s always going to be an interpretation. They’re always going to make a decision to protect quarterbacks, which I obviously understand and probably agree with.”

The play occurred at the 12:35 mark of the third quarter, with the Giants holding a 16–10 lead. Dart scrambled on first-and-10 and began his slide as three Cowboys closed in. Williams arrived a split second later and made forceful contact with Dart’s head. On replay, it looked less like intent and more like momentum meeting a late decision by the quarterback.

Still, as Schottenheimer pointed out, the call went the quarterback’s way. Williams was flagged for unnecessary roughness, giving New York 15 yards and an automatic first down. The Giants capitalized. They finished the drive with a touchdown when Dart hit running back Tyrone Tracy Jr. for a 13-yard score. That completion extended a strong afternoon for Dart, who finished 22-of-32 for 230 yards, two touchdowns, and no interceptions, while also adding 32 rushing yards in what became his fourth career win.

Compounding the issue, that wasn’t Williams’ only flag on the drive. He was hit with another unnecessary roughness penalty on the final play, though it was ultimately declined. The second flag came after Williams shoved Giants rookie offensive lineman Marcus Mbow following the touchdown, part of a brief post-play scuffle that drew multiple flags on Dallas. Even so, while Schottenheimer acknowledged the questionable nature of the earlier call, he made it clear that the penalty itself wasn’t his biggest concern.

“The biggest thing is some conversions that we gave up on third down. You know, PI penalties and things like that. It’s some technical stuff that you got to clean up. But at the end of the day, there were a lot of flags out there today,” Schottenheimer added.

And the numbers backed that up. The Cowboys were penalized nine times for 94 yards in the season finale, making it hard to pin the loss or the defensive struggles on any single call. Williams, who recorded one solo tackle and one assisted tackle, was responsible for two of those personal fouls on the same Giants drive. Now, attention turns to Williams and whether the league decides that one hit warrants further punishment.

Will the league punish Brian Schottenheimer’s DT?

Following his questionable hit on Jaxson Dart, Quinnen Williams is now potentially staring at a fine from the league for unnecessary roughness. For some context, the NFL handed out fines for unnecessary roughness 21 times in Week 17 alone. So while discipline wouldn’t be surprising, whether the Cowboys’ defensive tackle is punished remains up in the air for now.

Typically, fines for unnecessary roughness range anywhere between $11,500 and $23,000. And if the league does decide to act, this wouldn’t be unfamiliar territory for Williams. Earlier this season, back when he was still with the New York Jets, Williams was fined twice in Week 3. The first came from a facemask penalty on Buccaneers running back Bucky Irving, which cost him $11,593. Not long after, he was fined again. This time, $17,389 for a hip-drop tackle on Irving in the same matchup. Across his seven-year NFL career, Williams has been fined six times, totaling $102,356.

Since then, Williams managed to stay out of trouble and avoid further discipline. But now, with the regular season officially wrapped up, the focus shifts to whether this latest hit brings an unwanted ending to his year. Or whether the league ultimately decides to let it slide. The NFL Officiating Department is expected to review both personal fouls, with any potential fine set to be disclosed in the league’s weekly gameday accountability report later this week.

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