Sunday night’s trip to Dallas proved the Green Bay Packers can’t get by with only pressures from former Cowboy Micah Parsons. In his highly anticipated return, Parsons produced a team-high number of pressures, including a critical tackle on Dak Prescott in the red zone during overtime, but the Packers still gave up 40 points and provided little resistance against Prescott, who completed 31 passes and picked apart Jeff Hafley’s defense for most of Sunday night’s 40-40 tie at AT&T Stadium.
By the traditional box score, Parsons produced three quarterback hits, giving him nine in four games — trailing only two players for the NFL lead. And his sack, while not creating a loss of yards, was a huge play in overtime and likely kept the Packers from losing in Dallas.
According to Pro Football Focus, Parsons produced eight pressures and a pass-rush win rate of 34.5 percent despite being double teams on most pass-rushing snaps. Next Gen Stats, which uses a pressure probability model based on proximity and other factors, had Parsons with a team-high seven pressures. Through four weeks, Parsons ranks first in the NFL with 26 pressures at Next Gen Stats.
Parsons wasn’t willing to evaluate his own play post-game, but he knew the collective effort defensively wasn’t good enough.
Sunday night was a revealing example of how a great quarterback can negate an impact pass-rusher like Parsons. On several dropbacks, Prescott either got rid of the football before Parsons arrived on a pass-rush win or made a big throw under duress. The Cowboys frequently sent extra help to Parsons, who had to battle through two or more blockers on most of his pass-rushing snaps.
Watch Prescott’s deep completion to George Pickens in the first half. Parsons beat left guard Tyler Smith and was in Prescott’s lap, but the veteran quarterback got rid of the ball and his receiver made a play in traffic down field for a big play.
On one snap in the second half, Parsons delivered a quick win and nearly jarred the ball out of Prescott’s hands at the back of the pocket, but the Cowboys quarterback avoided the fumble and got the ball out of his hands. The throw ended up incomplete, but a chance at a game-changing turnover was missed.
So, how did Parsons play in his return to Dallas? He was individually effective and at times dominant for a disappointing effort overall defensively, a fitting result after years of similar outcomes while with the Cowboys.
Hear more from Parsons below:
This article originally appeared on Packers Wire: How did Packers DE Micah Parsons play in return to Dallas?
Reporting by Zach Kruse, Packers Wire / Packers Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
