In the span of fewer than four months, rookie Micah Parsons has smashed records and established himself as one of the most feared players on the Dallas Cowboys’ dominating defense.
For the second time this season, Parsons was named the NFL Rookie of the Month. He is the only Cowboys player to collect the award twice and one of only a handful of players to accomplish the feat in NFL history.
Over the course of December’s four games, Parsons contributed four sacks and at least ten QB pressures while playing from the linebacker position. Parsons has also filled in as an edge rusher this season with injuries and disciplinary action impacting the availability of defensive ends DeMarcus Lawrence and Randy Gregory.
Parsons has 13 sacks on the season, only 1.5 sacks behind NFL league-leader Jevon Kearse, who set the rookie record with 14.5 sacks in the 1999 season while playing for the Tennessee Titans.
In addition to his two NFL Rookie of the Month awards, Parsons has been named the Pepsi Zero Rookie of the Week three times, awarded to him for his performances during weeks 8, 10, and 14. He was also named the NFL Defensive Player of the Week for Week 8 after the Cowboys defeated the Minnesota Vikings.
Parsons has been one of the front-runners in the discussion for NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year and is considered one of the top three or four players in contention for NFL Defensive Player of the Year. Only one other player has ever taken both awards — the legendary Lawrence Taylor, who won both in his rookie 1981 season. Unofficially, Taylor recorded 9.5 sacks his rookie season. The NFL didn’t officially record sacks as a statistic until 1982.
Sportswriter Gil Brandt released his All-Rookie team this week, and Parsons was a shoo-in. Brandt points out that Parsons’ 2021 campaign ranks as not just one of the best seasons for a rookie, but for any player, becoming one of only 13 others to have ever put up the numbers Parsons has in one season.
Parsons was selected in the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft as the 12th overall pick by the Cowboys. His impact has been immediate in establishing the Cowboys’ defense this season. In 15 games, Parsons has a total of 74 tackles, with 55 of them being solos, 13 sacks, three forced fumbles, and three passes defended.
The Cowboys will face the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday in a game the Cardinals must win after losing their last three games. The Cowboys took the NFC East title last week and stand a good chance of earning the NFC Number One seed.
In order to take the top spot in the NFC away from the Green Bay Packers, the Cowboys will need to win the final two games of the season and will need either the Minnesota Vikings or the Detroit Lions to pull off an upset over the Packers.
