Here Are Three Reasons Why Micah Parsons, Packers Will Beat Cowboys

GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Green Bay Packers, coming off a horrendous loss at the Cleveland Browns, need to rebound on Sunday night at the Dallas Cowboys. The good news is the Packers are 5-0 all-time at AT&T Stadium. The better news is they have Micah Parsons.

Here are three reasons why the Packers will enter their bye week with a bounce-back victory.

Defenses have been preoccupied with stopping Josh Jacobs, which is the biggest reason why the running game has been stuck in neutral – if not reverse.

There’s one obvious solution.

Throw the ball against defenses that are daring Jordan Love to do just that.

“Potentially,” that could be the solution, coach Matt LaFleur said this week.

“The less-advantageous looks are your eight-man fronts when they’re playing single safety behind it,” he added. “The counter to that is typically those are better looks to throw the ball which is your point, so there can be some of that.”

If defenses are inviting Green Bay to pass the ball, Dallas’ pass defense could be handing out the same invitation to LaFleur and Love. Throw. The. Ball.

The Cowboys are allowing 9.39 yards per passing attempt – 0.75 yards worse than any other team. It starts with the pass rush, where the Cowboys have gone from second in sack percentage in 2024 to 28th in 2025. The reason for the decline is a real mystery. The best pass defenses combine rush and coverage. With no rush, the coverage has been destroyed.

In Week 2, the Giants’ Russell Wilson threw for 450 yards; Wilson won’t even start for New York this week. In Week 3, the Bears’ Caleb Williams threw for 298 yards and four touchdowns. Wilson was a great quarterback. Williams might become a great quarterback. But neither are great quarterbacks now, and the Cowboys made them look like Hall of Famers.

Working to Dallas’ advantage is it’ll have its premier cornerback tandem of Trevon Diggs and DaRon Bland. Diggs was first-team All-Pro in 2021, when he led the NFL with 11 interceptions. Bland was first-team All-Pro in 2023, when he led the NFL with nine interceptions, including five pick-sixes.

That’s a lot of interceptions – meaning Love will have to be wary. However, Bland and Diggs have missed time with injuries – Bland wasn’t on the field the last two weeks – but maybe they’re not 100 percent healthy or quite in the flow yet.

“They’ve given up some big plays (but) I still think they’ve got a lot of good playmakers over there,” Love said. “Obviously, it’s a new scheme, things like that, so there might be some growing pains, things like that, trying to figure some things out. We’ve just got to have a great week, focus, but we’ll get their best, so can’t really focus on what other teams have done. You’ve got to go out there and do it yourself.””

Working to Green Bay’s advantage is the Cowboys have one of the worst pass rushes in the NFL. The past three seasons, they averaged 50 sacks per year. This year, they have four, meaning they’re on pace for 23. Again, the reason for the drop-off is baffling. Whatever the reason, the Packers – even with their depleted offensive line – should be able to give Love the time he needs to find his targets.

“I would have to believe that Micah [Parsons] would have made a difference up to this point, and he certainly is for Green Bay,” former Cowboys quarterback and current NFL analyst Troy Aikman said this week. “You’ve got to be able to get after the quarterback. It’s that simple.” 

With a clean pocket, Love’s got the second-best passer rating in the league at 136.9, according to Pro Football Focus. When under pressure, that plummets to 48.8.

Love loves going deep, so file this nugget from Next Gen Stats away: The Cowboys have allowed 415 yards and five touchdowns against deep passes, the most deep-ball yards allowed by a defense since the advent of Next Gen in 2016.

Like the Packers, the Cowboys will be lining up with two starting offensive linemen, with center Cooper Beebe on injured reserve and right guard Tyler Booker out with an ankle injury. Combined with the struggles of their offensive tackles, there are advantages up and down the line of scrimmage for the Packers to exploit.

Last year’s first-round pick, Tyler Guyton, is the Cowboys’ left tackle. Of 56 offensive tackles with 50 percent playing time, he ranks 43rd in PFF’s pass-blocking efficiency, which measures sacks, hits and hurries per pass-protecting snap. He’s allowed the fourth-most pressures among tackles.

Terence Steele is the right tackle. He ranks 40th among tackles in pass-blocking efficiency and has allowed the ninth-most pressures.

Left guard Tyler Smith is really good – he’s sixth among guards in PFF’s pass-blocking efficiency and has allowed only three sacks since the start of the 2023 season – but there will be upheaval at center and right guard.

Added together, there will be opportunities to exploit for Micah Parsons in his return to Dallas and Rashan Gary, who leads the NFL in sacks. According to Next Gen Stats, they’ve generated 31 pressures this year, second-most for any edge-rusher duo. Plus, Devonte Wyatt, who is second among interior defensive linemen in pressures, and Lukas Van Ness is off to a productive start.

“Yeah, right now, everybody’s hungry, unproven mindset,” Gary said. “Football’s an imperfect game but we all strive to have that perfect game. I feel that’s our defensive mindset, so I feel like that’s how everybody’s feeling right now and trying to put together that perfect game and how great we can be.”

While Micah Parsons tried to downplay his return to Dallas during his weekly conversation with Packers beat reporters on Wednesday, he was a bit more forthright in an interview with The Associated Press earlier in the week.

“It’s going to be painful” for Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott, Parsons said.

Parsons won’t just be the best player on the field. He’ll be the most motivated.

“For me, I just feel like my fuel’s always been trying to be the best player,” he told reporters in Green Bay. “When you’ve got a good team and you’ve got to beat them, you’ve got to show up in the primetime games. You’ve got to be your best player for yourself, for your team and everyone there.”

Exactly one month ago, he was traded to the Packers. He’s been everything the Packers could have hoped for. Double- and triple-team blocks have been nothing more than a mosquito on a windshield for Parsons. While he hasn’t sacked the quarterback with his typical production, he’s been superb at generating pressure and setting up his teammates.

Everywhere Parsons looks, there will be a path toward inflicting pain on Prescott. As noted above, the tackles have been a weakness and there are injuries at the interior positions.

Parsons isn’t just an edge rusher. He has created pressure wherever he’s lined up, even last week when he lined up over the center as a linebacker. Look for defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley to move Parsons around to take advantage of those matchups.

“To me, it’s not just the centers and guards,” Parsons said. “I just feel like we’re creating matchups and I feel like I’m the best player against all of them. It don’t matter. Left, right, left guard, right guard. Some guys, I think their numbers drop at different positions, but sustainably, whether it’s your best player vs. (me), I think I’m winning those matchups. So, I just think my percentages go a little bit higher when I’m over them, too.”