How do you explain Dallas Cowboys rookie Micah Parsons? Jerry Jones: ‘He has IT.’
Micah Parsons has it. What it actually is, is almost impossible to define, Dallas Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones said.
But Parsons made it clear once more Thursday in the Cowboys’ 27-17 win over the New Orleans Saints Thursday night.
The rookie linebacker had five pressures, three quarterback hurries and a huge sack that helped ice the win.
“I don’t know that I’ve seen anybody that has the makeup to get every ounce of everything possible out of everything that he’s got along with being that talented,” Jones said on KRLD/105.3 FM “The Fan.”
Jones talked with Parsons on the field before Thursday’s game. Parsons intensity is impressive, Jones said.
“It’s not uncomfortable intensity. It’s uncomfortable for those quarterbacks out there, but it’s not uncomfortable,” Jones said. “We call it ‘it,’ but he’s got some of that thing that we can’t define, but it’s there. It’s there.”
Parsons is the first player with 70 tackles and at least 10 sacks through his team’s first 12 games since linebacker James Harrison hit those marks while with the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2010. With five games remaining, Parsons is on pace to finish with more than 100 tackles and 14 sacks. Hall of Fame defensive end Bruce Smith is the last player to do that. He did that nearly 30 year ago, when he was with the Buffalo Bills in 1993.
Parsons is the 13th rookie linebacker to record at least 10 sacks and he’s the first rookie since Joey Bosa in 2017 to record a sack in five consecutive games. He has 23 pressures over the past three games. Only J.J. Watt had more in a three-game span in a season in the past five seasons.
The Cowboys (8-4) next play the Washington Football Team (5-6) at noon on Sunday, Dec. 12.
Perhaps the most impressive aspect of Parsons’ rookie season? He isn’t satisfied. He has high hopes for the Cowboys this season and isn’t interested in resting on his laurels.
“The Super Bowl, playoffs, you got five games left,” he said. “There’s stuff to be done. I don’t think it’s time for me to sit on my couch, smiling, eating Cheetos. I’m trying to do something way bigger than anybody thought we could do this year.”
Jones said there has been discussions about using Parsons as a full-time edge rusher and less at linebacker. Parsons hasn’t been fazed while helping the Cowboys’ defense fill the voids on the edge because of injuries.
“So, we’ll look at that. You call him a linebacker, but what he really is is a disruptor,” Jones said. “He’s very unique.”
Jones reminded listeners that Parsons was the Cowboys’ highest-rated defensive player when they drafted him No. 12 overall last spring. But even Jones has been amazed at the intangibles Parsons brings.
“The thing that you couldn’t really put a finger on, but you never can, is that fire inside, that striving to be so much better, that overachieving along with some brilliant athletic ability and football athletic ability,” he said.
This story was originally published December 3, 2021 at 12:55 PM.
