Even with everything around him falling apart, Cowboys’ Micah Parsons shines on

The Dallas Cowboys couldn’t do much right on Sunday, but as usual, Micah Parsons came to play with reckless abandon. | From @TimLettiero

Dallas has had their fair share of messy games this season, however they had managed to pull out a victory in all of them and had never downright not shown up. That was before Week 9 against the Denver Broncos. In Arlington of all places, neither the offense nor the defense came out firing. The Cowboys lacked energy, cohesion and performance for four quarters in a thumping defeat, 30-16.

After being stymied their opening drive, Denver easily walked down the field on their next possession for a score and when Dallas tried to respond they missed their second consecutive fourth-down conversion. That set the tone for the remainder of the game and things rolled downhill from there. Early and often, the Dallas defense struggled against the run. Melvin Gordon and rookie Javonte Williams feasted off tackle on what seemed to be no edge presence for Dallas. In the passing game, QB Teddy Bridgewater methodically picked the secondary apart, managing the game as well as one could.

As optimists say, there is always a silver lining and the Cowboys most notable one is their Defensive Rookie of the Year candidate, linebacker Micah Parsons.

Parsons has a unique skillset that allows him to play almost any position in the front seven with elite athleticism, size and strength. The 6-foot-3, 245 pounder has the ability to rush the QB as well as drop into the flats or across the middle in coverage and Sunday he showcased it all. With back-to-back weeks of 10+ tackles and three for a loss, Parsons puts himself in elite company.

Parsons made his presence felt early and often as his finesse in the passing game allowed him to get to Bridgewater twice on his own on the day and once with teammates. His 2.5 sacks double what he had previously, totaling five through eight games.

Parsons showed off why he is more than a pass rusher as well.

While located just a bit inside from the slot, he recognizes the bubble screen to Broncos WR Jerry Jeudy and uses his elite closing speed to make the tackle on the boundaries. Plays like this don’t light up the stat sheet but show how special Parsons is.

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