Dallas Cowboys edge-rusher Micah Parsons has a bone to pick with officials.
Per the team website, the Dallas star hasn’t drawn a penalty for 38 straight quarters. Parsons castigated the referees after Sunday’s 22-20 loss to the Miami Dolphins (11-4).
“It’s mind-blowing, the things that are getting called, the positions we get put in,” Parsons said. “We just gotta learn to fight the adversity and know a lot of it is BS. It’s football plays, but it’s the world we live in. We got the star on the helmet.”
Parsons is one of the most dominant pass-rushers in the NFL. Since entering the league in 2021, he’s fourth in sacks (39.5) behind San Francisco’s Nick Bosa, Cleveland’s Myles Garrett and Pittsburgh’s T.J. Watt. He’s also earned two first-team All-Pro nods.
Since he’s hard to stop, that might explain why he isn’t drawing penalties. Regardless, it’s reducing the 24-year-old’s impact. Over his past three games, he has 1.5 sacks and four solo tackles. Meanwhile, the Cowboys (10-5) have lost two of their last three games and have allowed 22 points per game during that span, ranking 15th in the league.
To solve the problem, Dallas should consider having him line up at linebacker more often. Parsons has been used on the D-line more, so teams are double-teaming him. Per ESPN, he’s double-teamed on 32 percent of snaps, the highest rate in the NFL. Moving him to LB gives him more room to operate and avoid getting held.
Dallas needs Parsons to kick it up a notch before the start of the postseason. The Cowboys have already clinched a playoff spot but are second in the NFC East behind the Eagles (10-4). If they win their next two games and Philadelphia loses one, they could clinch the division and host a wild-card game.
