ARLINGTON, Texas – What can't Micah Parsons do?
Just a week after he had a game-altering play against the Lions that flipped the tide in that one, he literally did it again against the Bears a week later. With Chicago surging in the third quarter against a Cowboys defense that was on its heels for once this season, it was Parsons who had the play of the game.
Again.
Once Leighton Vander Esch punched the ball out of Bears' running back David Montgomery's hands, it was Parsons who picked it up. Except nobody touched him and assumed he was down. Even quarterback Justin Fields just hopped over Parsons and headed toward the sideline.
Naturally, the "Lion" took off for the 36-yard scoop-and-score that put the signature bow on the Cowboys' highest scoring game of the season so far and his first career touchdown.
"I saw [Montgomery] broke a couple tackles," Parsons said. "And the ball came out and I landed on the ball. I popped up ready to celebrate with the team. I thought I was down. And everyone was like, 'Go! Go! Go!'"
Up until that point, the Cowboys had been fighting to grab back the momentum that they started the afternoon with. After scoring a touchdown on their first four drives of the game and maintaining a 28-7 lead deep into the first half, a roughing the passer call and a Dak Prescott interception quickly cut their lead to 28-23 at the break.
Tony Pollard's second of three total touchdowns of the day extended the lead in the third quarter, but it was Parsons' fumble recovery that sucked the air out of the Bears' moving forward. And in Parsons' eyes it might have earned him a rep or two at the running back spot moving forward.
"Yeah, Zeke [Ezekiel Elliott] said I look just like him," Parsons said. "I think I definitely deserve a rep now. They can't say they haven't seen it in a game. So hopefully I get thrown in a goal-line package or red-zone package."
The best part was that Parsons was as serious as could be. The even better part was not 10 minutes before he said that, head coach Mike McCarthy already knew that Parsons would be knocking on his door for more chances.
"I was obviously very excited," McCarthy said of Parsons' play. "But part of me is annoyed because he wants to be on offense already. Now I'm going to have a hard time keeping him out of my office."
McCarthy was joking, of course, but it served as yet another reminder of the relentless motor that Parsons possesses that has made him one of the best defensive players in the sport.
"You can't teach effort," Parsons said. "Running to the ball, regardless if you make the play or don't make the play. But you just never know what happens on the football field. It took me a year and a half before I got lucky [to score a touchdown]. Sometimes it's just consistency."
Prescott knew he would probably hear quite a bit about the touchdown from Parsons, too. But like McCarthy did as well, they both echoed the same sentiment about the star defensive player.
"Honestly, I was like, 'Geez I'm going to hear this for a while,'" Prescott said. "That guy is an athlete. That guy is a hell of a player, one of the best in the league. And just for him to be able to go get that touchdown … trust me, many more will come in his career."
