Dallas Cowboys running back Javonte Williams is taking full accountability for the taunting penalty that proved costly in the team’s Week 1 loss to the New York Giants. Speaking to reporters Thursday ahead of the Cowboys’ Week 2 matchup against the Washington Commanders, Williams made it clear he won’t put Dallas in that position again.

“That was out of character,” Williams told reporters via The Athletic’s Jon Machota. “You do not have to worry about that no more. I hurt the team. That is on me. I take full accountability and responsibility. From here on out, you don’t have to worry about me celebrating at all.”

That last line is worth pausing on. Williams didn’t say he’d tone it down. He said he wouldn’t celebrate at all.

Williams’ penalty was silly and costly for the Cowboys

Williams was one of the best players on the field for the Cowboys on Sunday. He scored one rushing touchdown and one receiving touchdown, finishing the day with 41 rushing yards and five catches for 31 yards. He found his rhythm in the second half after the holes simply weren’t there in the first.

However, when Dallas scored its third and final touchdown of the game, Williams extended the football toward Giants defenders. The flag came out. Taunting. Fifteen yards.

That penalty mattered more. The Cowboys were expecting to go for 2 in that situation, per head coach Brian Schottenheimer, and the 15-yard pushback obviously made it impossible. Brandon Aubrey went in to kick the extra point instead. To make matters worse, it was no good, making the score 28-20. Had the Cowboys scored another touchdown, they would have needed a 2-point conversion just to tie.

In the end, that particular sequence didn’t decide the outcome on its own because the Cowboys could not stop the Giants all night. That includes the final drive, in which New York iced the game by moving the chains four different times and killing the clock. But Williams’ penalty removed options from a team that desperately needed them.

Channelling his inner Barry Sanders?

It’s unclear if Williams truly meant he plans to eliminate all celebrations or if he was specifically referring to taunting-style gestures. It would be quite the overcorrection and it’s defnitely not what he needs to do. But he did use the words “celebrating at all,” so it sounds like that’s the plan. At least initially.

If so, Williams could be taking a page out of the Barry Sanders playbook. Sanders, the iconic Detroit Lions running back, famously refused to celebrate after touchdowns, choosing instead to hand the football to the officials and go about his business. For Williams, that would be a significant shift. 

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said earlier in the week Williams is the last player you would think would commit a taunting foul. 

Williams is critical to Week 2 bounce back

Williams will play a major role in the Cowboys’ attempt to bounce back when they host the Washington Commanders, who are coming off a tight defeat against the Philadelphia Eagles. Both NFC East opponents will be searching for their first win of the season.

One of the keys to the game will be Williams finding a way to pound the rock. And if he does reach the end zone, part of the victory may also come in the form of doing absolutely nothing afterward.

For now, Williams has said his piece. Don’t expect mental mistakes to be a part of his game moving forward.