It’ll be a fun ‘Sunday Night Football’ game.
Micah Parsons spent the first four years of his career with the Dallas Cowboys. During that time, the defense was the best when he was on the field and the worst when he wasn’t, based on EPA/play. So you could imagine that trading Parsons away would have a monster impact in the team’s outlook in 2025. In fact, it has.
Through three weeks, the Cowboys’ defense is 31st in EPA/play, 27th in success rate, and 26th in pass rush win rate. On Sunday, Dallas will meet Micah Parsons on the Green Bay Packers for the first time, and it’s a game with big implications in the NFC.
Because of that, we invited A to Z Sports’ Cowboys beat writer Mauricio Rodriguez to share his perspective about how life has been without the star edge rusher.
It’s concerning. The Cowboys rank 21st in pressure rate when rushing four and a big part of it is Dallas’ defensive ends are having a hard time producing since the Parsons trade. Dante Fowler Jr. has his moments rushing the passer in obvious passing downs but tackles aren’t sweating a whole lot against this group. Look at it this way: The Packers have four defenders with a minimum 11 pressures, three of which are edge rushers. Dallas has no defenders with double-digit pressures. Combined with soft zone coverages in the backend that are just not being properly executed, the Cowboys are making life easy on opponents who want to pass the football.
The run defense has been inconsistent, but mostly because of poor linebacker and defensive end play. Meanwhile, Kenny Clark and starting defensive tackle Osa Odighizuwa are the best assets the team has when stopping the run. Clark has been the only positive out of the Parsons trade for Dallas, as he’s made an immediate impact up the middle, reminding fans of what a real nose tackle looks like. His impact hasn’t been limited to run defense though, as he leads the team with nine pressures.
The run game. We’ll see what the offense looks like with two backup linemen, but they’ve been running the football very efficiently. Even in Week 3, Javonte Williams was averaging 7.6 yards per attempt against the Chicago Bears. A lot of it has to do with an emphasis on motion at the snap and pulling blockers. Dallas’ backups inside are more than decent so expect them to try to pound the rock with CeeDee Lamb out. But also, George Pickens is still a legit threat at wide receiver, albeit a lesser one when he’s the offense’s top target. Combined with Dak Prescott, these two can deal damage.
