FRISCO, TX — Micah Parsons is going to be one of several players who determine the outcome of the coming bout between the Dallas Cowboys and the San Francisco 49ers — the two sides meeting in primetime in Santa Clara for a game that will send a loud-and-clear message about both clubs over the course of four quarters.
The two-time First-Team All-Pro pass rusher didn't land a sack in the 38-3 demolition of the New England Patriots but delivered eight quarterback pressures to help keep Mac Jones uncomfortable, but Parsons also ended the contest with a banged up knee and ankle.
He says he's a full go for this weekend, though.
"After getting my treatments and the extra work I've done to prepare for this game, I really feel great and high-spirited right now," said Parsons.
That's superb news for the Cowboys, in a matchup that will often seen Parsons lined up across one of the best (arguably the best) left tackle in the NFL — namely Trent Williams — who recently called battles with Dallas an "ice bag game".
Parsons agrees.
"For sure. It's always a slug[fest]," he said. "These matchups are always gonna be hard-fought. I feel like they play us harder than anybody, and I definitely feel like it's gonna be one of those games. I do [love it]."
Just thinking about what's to come on Sunday has Parsons operating in a different space this week, as he tells it.
"I've been tapped into my mode all week," Parsons said. "I feel great. I'm ready to get after it [literally] right now. I really try to stay in [my mode] but for games like this, because of how they look at it, and how we look at it, it's one of the biggest stages. It's Cowboys [versus] 49ers.
"It's nothing better."
A big determinant of the coming fight will be the Cowboys' ability to take the ball away versus the unwillingness of the 49ers' offense to give it away through their first four games of the 2023 season. Brock Purdy has no interceptions and only one lost fumble, but he's fumbled four times and Parsons views things like that as an opportunity for potential takeaways — the Cowboys simply needing to make sure they capitalize when given the chance.
The unstoppable force meets the immovable object in a back-alley brawl between two of the best in the NFC, and with both trying to make a point in the conference to begin the second quarter of the season.
"Something has to give," said Parsons.
And something inevitably will.
