Micah Parsons was taken as the first overall draft pick by the Dallas Cowboys this season as a critical building block to revamp a defense that fell on hard times in 2020.
Through seven games, it is hard to tell that Parsons is in his first season. Sunday’s performance against the Minnesota Vikings was record-setting as the linebacker accumulated 11 total tackles, including four tackles-for-loss (TFL).
Parsons became the first rookie in NFL history to record 10 or more tackles in a game and has received recognition as this week’s NFC Defensive Player of the Week.
Parsons becomes the third Cowboys player this season to earn Player of the Week individual honors. He joins cornerback Trevon Diggs, who was recognized in Week 4, and quarterback Dak Prescott, whose Week 6 performance earned him the title.
Parsons has demonstrated his impressive skillset as the Cowboys Defensive Coordinator Dan Quinn has called on the young player to move from linebacker to defensive end to accommodate injuries.
On the season, Parsons has 40 tackles, including 28 solo tackles, according to NFL stats. Some of his best came this past week against the Vikings. Parsons has an uncanny ability to sniff out plays and make a jump on receivers and running backs, leading to his four TFLs.
Parsons said following Sunday’s victory at Minnesota that he made some changes to his routine during the bye week to step up his game, including arriving earlier to put in extra work.
“Like I said during the week when things aren’t going right, you’ve got to prepare different,” Parsons said in a post-game interview. “So I think this week, I came in with the mindset like, ‘Sunday night, I’ve got to be the It Factor.’ It’s kind of what I expected, what I wanted to do today.”
Quinn said that he has noticed Parsons coming in earlier and working hard to continue to improve his already-impressive stat lines.
One element that may have factored into his explosive performance against the Vikings was the decision to give Jayron Kearse the play-calling helmet rather than Parsons. With his focus on his own performance rather than setting the defense, Parsons was free to attack the line at will from the inside linebacker spot.
The Cowboys will face the Denver Broncos on Sunday, giving Parsons an opportunity to increase his stats. The Broncos offensive line ranked 25th out of 32 teams by Pro Football Network, will be tasked with slowing down the dominant player.
It will be an opportunity for Parsons and the rest of the Cowboys’ defense to continue dominance and make it that much more of a challenge for any NFC East team to catch up, even with an extra game this year.
The Cowboys are currently sitting at 6-1 and have not lost since Week 1 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. They have a three-game lead over the Philadelphia Eagles and are 2-0 in the division.