FRISCO, TX — Micah Parsons isn't one to sit and stew, not unless it's his prey that's doing the stewing in a bowl somewhere. The two-time First-Team All-Pro is moving past the embarrassing 28-16 loss handed to the Dallas Cowboys by the Arizona Cardinals in Week 3, currently sitting at 2-1 on the season.
Parsons and the Cowboys are looking to avoid suffering their first two-game losing streak since November 2021, preparing to host Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots.
"For sure. It's frustrating but, early in the season, you have to get over it quick[ly]," said Parsons on Wednesday. "You don't want it to linger on — especially when you go against a team that is fundamentally sound in the run game and pretty dynamic. We want to get over it quick[ly], and look forward to this weekend."
One thing the team will hope to look forward to is the return of the same run defense that shut down the Giants and the Jets — teams with very capable RB talent — having allowed 222 rushing yards by the Cardinals.
And then there were the 13 enforced penalties for 107 total yards, many of them killing drives and also deleting a 51-yard punt return by KaVontae Turpin with the Cowboys still in striking distance.
"We were beating ourselves," Parsons explained. "Obviously the penalties [were a factor] and people coming out of their gaps, and stuff like that, but everything's fixed — it's getting fixed and we're looking forward to proving it this week."
It was an emotional week for Dallas, one that saw the team lose First-Team All-Pro cornerback Trevon Diggs to a torn ACL and, to a lesser but still impactful extent, Tyler Biadasz to a hamstring injury, Zack Martin to an ankle injury and Tyron Smith to a knee issue that cropped up on Saturday just ahead of their flight to Phoenix.
"The energy was off," said Parsons. "We didn't play how we did the first two weeks. It's something that we're looking forward to getting back to, for sure. It's super frustrating, especially when you look at the tape. When you strive for perfection, and you're pushing forward, and you say you wanna have this identity and do these things; everyone can say it, but you've gotta go out there and do it.
"When you don't do it, and you don't play up to the standard of who you want to be, you've gotta look yourself in the mirror and say, 'I've gotta be better.' … You've got to go out there and change. If you don't change, we're just as [normal] as everyone else, and we're never gonna grow.
"When you face reality and … go out there and fix it, you become a better person and player, and man, and that's who we're gonna be."
The question is, of course, who do the Cowboys want to be in 2023?
Every team has either already been punched in the mouth with adversity or inevitably will be, in some way, shape or form, but resiliency is mandatory if this version of the Cowboys are to indeed seize everything — as this year's "Carpe Omnia" mantra demands.
"The positives of failure is that you always learn," said Parsons. "You never really lose. You lose in a moment that sucks, but the positive is you always learn. You never want to take a double L. Never want to lose and not learn. You always want to lose and learn and fix your mistakes.
"We're human. No one's perfect. We've played perfect ball but, last week, just wasn't perfect."
Considering the head coach they'll be standing across the sideline from this coming Sunday, there's a chance they'll have to get back to playing perfect football, or at least get very close to it.
The lion is always hungry, but after last week's outcome, he's starving.
