FRISCO, Texas — By the time Saints left tackle Terron Armstead saw Robert Quinn, it was too late. The speedy Cowboys pass rusher had burst off the right end on third-and-8 with 7:34 to play in the fourth quarter.
Quinn needed just three seconds on the play clock to wrap up Teddy Bridgewater for his second sack of the night (or third, if you count the one negated by a defensive back’s penalty). Quinn was ecstatic. So the newly minted Dallas rusher celebrated in a fashion befitting of teammates’ nickname for him. Slithering like a snake, his ankles moving in unnatural angles, Quinn embraced the moniker he’s received around Cowboys locker room: the Black Cobra.
“He can bend like no other and obviously when you’re in your ninth year and your ankles are still bending like that, it’s a good thing,” fellow defensive lineman Tyrone Crawford said Friday. “He’s the black cobra. And he strikes. He strikes pretty viciously.”
Quinn’s strike was among the Cowboys’ brightest spots in last week’s loss to the Saints, Dallas’ first loss of the season. In addition to the two sacks, Quinn recorded three quarterback hits and a pass deflection as Dallas held a New Orleans team averaging 24 points to 12. Now facing the Packers on Sunday, the Cowboys will need Quinn to contain Aaron Rodgers in a way they’ve often failed to.
Rodgers has won six of nine career games against the Cowboys, throwing 16 touchdowns to two interceptions with an average quarterback rating of 103.6. In 2014 and 2016, it was Rodgers magic that led the Packers to the NFC title game in wins of five and three points respectively. The Cowboys have beat Rodgers just once in their last seven faceoffs: a 30-16 decision at Lambeau Field in October 2016. Then-Cowboys defensive lineman David Irving exploded that game for four tackles, a sack, a pass deflection and three forced fumbles, all in just 19 defensive snaps. It was enough to limit the Pro Bowl quarterback.
The Cowboys must limit him again to win this week.
“He’s really good in the pocket. He’s really good out of the pocket,” head coach Jason Garrett said of Rodgers. “He’s really good on time. He’s really good when the play breaks down.
“I don’t know that anybody has had real success at stopping him throughout his career.”
Still, the Cowboys hope that the offseason addition of Quinn to their defensive line will help reverse their fortune against Rodgers. Two-time Pro Bowl defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence will anchor the left side of Dallas’ line, while defensive tackles Christian Covington and Maliek Collins play interior. But since Dallas acquired Quinn from Miami in March, he has led the team in sacks (3) and quarterback pressures (11, per coaches film)—despite missing two of the season’s four contests.
Credit his uncanny bend, relentless pursuit on every snap and continued evolution even in season 9 to elevate the attack. Like the green clay character Gumby, owner Jerry Jones said, Quinn’s speed and flexibility enables him to “bend and bend around and bend around a block a little bit,” Jones told Dallas radio station 105.3 The Fan this week. “I think that he’s playing like a hair-on-fire player so to speak.”
Garrett described the bend as rare.
“Robert’s ability to bend to come around the corner is exceptional,” Garrett said. “His ability to bend to change direction is exceptional. We saw that when we played against him a number of times, but then when you see it up close, it’s like, ‘wow.’ It’s eye-opening.
“I haven’t seen it very much in my life.”
Quinn has proven he can transfer those skills to disrupt Rodgers: In four career games against Green Bay, he’s hit Rodgers seven times, recording 3.5 sacks and forcing a fumble in the process. The Cowboys will bank on the Black Cobra to continue that trend Sunday. To flash those pass-rush skills that can’t be taught, Crawford said.
“That’s just natural, man,” Crawford added of Quinn, who like Lawrence hails from South Carolina. “Those South Carolina guys, man. I call them guys aliens. It’s just a place like Area 51.
“Those guys are special, man.”
Follow Jori Epstein of USA TODAY Sports on Twitter @JoriEpstein