Jameson Williams: Lions Know How to Attack Cowboys Defense
Detroit Lions wideout Jameson Williams has been one of the team’s most dynamic playmakers throughout the 2025 season. And his Thanksgiving Day performance against the Green Bay Packers only furthered that reality: seven receptions, 144 yards and a touchdown. It marked the third 100-plus-yard outing of his season.
The Lions’ record, now 7-5, and their unenviable spot in the NFC playoff race leave little room for error the remainder of the season.
And things don’t get any easier for Dan Campbell’s squad, with a primetime showdown looming with the red-hot Dallas Cowboys Thursday night at Ford Field.
The Cowboys, winners of three straight games, are surging and are coming off a 31-28 triumph over the Kansas City Chiefs on Thanksgiving. Dak Prescott & Co. also beat the reigning Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles the week prior (24-21).
A hotly contested has turned the Lions’ Week 14 matchup with Dallas into a virtual must-win battle between two teams sitting just outside the current playoff picture.
Additionally, Williams faces pressure to step up and fill the void created by the injury to Lions No. 1 wideout Amon-Ra St. Brown. St. Brown suffered an ankle ailment a week ago against Green Bay, and is expected to miss multiple weeks with the injury.
Even with the increased pressure now facing Williams and the heightened level of urgency for himself and his teammates, Williams seems unbothered.
“We’ve seen these guys two of my three or four years in the league, so we’ve seen these guys before and know what they can do and know these DBs,” Williams said of facing the Cowboys’ defense. “So, we know how to attack ‘em.
“But, that’s a huge shoutout to the coaches. They put in extra work for us and tell us what they see. And we do extra work too. We go back and forth with the coaches and find ways to attack these guys. We got a lot of ways to attack them, and on Thursday, it should be a good day on the offensive side.”
Williams also isn’t interested in the media’s narratives about him, whether about his emergence or the idea he might be “proving people wrong.” For him, the focus remains internal.
“I don’t really look into me proving people wrong. People are going to think what they want, regardless of what you do or don’t do. I just go out there and do my job the best I can,” Williams said.
On a short week with the season on the line, the Lions will be relying upon Williams to turn his painful drop into motivation for continued production.
Accepting responsibility for key drop
Despite being more involved in the offense and creating explosive plays, in Williams’ mind, all of it was insignificant after his crucial drop on a fourth-and-3 pass from Lions signal-caller Jared Goff early in the fourth quarter of the Week 13 affair.
With the Lions trailing, 31-21, and facing a pivotal fourth down at the Green Bay 21-yard line, Goff targeted Williams on a throw which landed slightly behind him.
While Goff took responsibility for the ball placement after the game, Williams saw it differently. In his media session with reporters Monday, he made it crystal clear the accountability rested solely on him.
“It’s a drop. That’s why I really did all that after the play,” Williams said. “No matter where the ball is at, as a receiver you got to make plays, and the blame don’t go on the quarterback. It goes on us, and that’s not even putting it down on my quarterback. I’m not even saying that. I’m saying it’s my fault — I dropped the ball.”
For Williams, the moment represented an opportunity lost – and not just for himself, but for the entire team.
“He gave me the opportunity. I just got to make the best of the opportunity and move the sticks for us,” the fourth-year receiver said. “I move the sticks right there — it could be a whole different game changer for us... It was a big play to me. No matter what happened in the game before that, you just got to look at the play right now, and I just got to make the best of that play and bring that one in for us.”
The drop overshadowed what was otherwise a strong showing from Williams.
He’s also had a relatively productive 2025 campaign thus far. He’s appeared in all 12 of Detroit’s games, compiling 38 receptions for 706 yards and six touchdowns.
5 49ers players who benefit most from the bye week
The San Francisco 49ers have the latest possible bye week in the 2025 season. With a team that had as many injuries as they did, this could be seen as a blessing and a curse. They would have enjoyed a week in the middle of the year to reset, but now that they are 9-4 and made it this far, it is a great chance to be the most rested team when the playoff stretch comes.
Still, these 49ers have to be happy that the week finally came.
Brock Purdy
Brock Purdy is slowly but surely starting to play better. Still, with five touchdowns to three interceptions and an average of 187 yards per game, it is fair to say that he is not quite firing on all cylinders.
He may not be completely healthy, or at the very least, he is rusty. So, it is good that he got three games to shake off the rust, and now gets a full week to reset, come back healthy, and hopefully play his best football in the last five weeks.
Ricky Pearsall
Ricky Pearsall was one of the most productive receivers in the NFL over the first four weeks of the season. In the three weeks that he has been back from his PCL injury, he has 20 yards combined. Some of this is due to outside factors, but Pearsall is in the same boat as Purdy. He was able to shake off the rust, but now a week to reset, make sure he is completely healed, and have a strong stretch run is needed.
Spencer Burford
Burford started the season as the backup left tackle, and now he is going to finish the season as their only hope at left guard. Burford was on IR from Weeks 3-8, and during that time, Connor Colby was unplayable at left guard. They immediately benched him for a healthy Burford despite limited practice time for the fourth-year guard.
Burford went from full-time to splitting snaps when Ben Bartch returned, but now Bartch is out for the season with a foot injury. So, Burford has been switching positions, trying to get healthy, jumping in and out of the lineup and now is a key to the 49ers' playoff success. A week to get his mind right may help.
Eric Kendricks
The 49ers may be without Tatum Bethune for another week or two after the bye week, although a week without games does buy him time. Still, they want to move on from Curtis Robinson playing and Kendricks may be the guy to do it. Kendricks was signed off of the street, so playing him this week was not happening.
Now, he gets a full week to adjust. If he can practice well next week, he may get on the field by Week 14 or 15.
Yetur Gross-Matos
Yetur Gross-Matos was placed on the IR with a hamstring injury, but Kyle Shanahan seemed optimistic about his chances to return after the bye week. Of course, with Shanahan, we never know until he is on the field practicing.
Sam Okuayinonu is also rehabbing his high ankle sprain, so both edge rushers will take value in the time off. If one or both can come back soon, it would make a notable difference.
