The Dallas Cowboys have a dominant move rusher in Micah Parsons

Late within the first quarter of Sunday’s tilt between the Cincinnati Bengals and the Dallas Cowboys, the Bengals confronted a 2nd and 11 in Cowboys’ territory.

Quarterback Joe Burrow took the shotgun snap from heart Ted Karras and shortly confronted a flash of white and silver off the fitting edge. Bearing down on him was second-year defender Micah Parsons, who had simply gotten previous his former teammate, proper sort out La’el Collins.

In some way, Burrow managed to keep away from Parsons, displaying some nifty footwork within the pocket. The quarterback flashed an preliminary transfer ahead within the pocket, inflicting Parsons to flatten his path to the passer, earlier than retreating and dipping round Parsons. It was a fast, athletic transfer that allowed Burrow to flee Parsons as he screamed into the pocket.

However Parsons was not executed:

Simply as shortly as Parsons blows by Burrow on his preliminary rush into the pocket, the defender adjustments instructions, stopping on a dime to double again and get house for the sack. Typically, an image is well worth the proverbial 1,000 phrases, and that is one such second:

There may be Parsons, driving his proper foot into the turf at AT&T Stadium, altering instructions whereas snapping his eyes again in the direction of the quarterback. In a single second, Parsons goes from operating full-tilt in run path, to right away altering course, backtracking to get to Burrow and end the play.

That is, for lack of a greater phrase, absurd.

However we’ve got begun to anticipate the absurd from Parsons, who’s coming off a yr the place he secured Defensive Rookie of the Yr honors, and was within the dialogue for Defensive Participant of the Yr, ending second behind T.J. Watt. He posted 13 complete sacks as a rookie, and appears even higher already in yr two.

Parsons already has 4 sacks on the younger season, having notched a pair of sacks in every recreation this season. He bought to Tom Brady twice again in Week 1, together with this sack from the second quarter the place he flashed a powerful counter, spinning to the within in opposition to left sort out Donovan Smith to get to the quarterback:

Later within the recreation, Parsons bought to Brady once more within the crimson zone, utilizing a powerful dip-and-rip transfer off the sting in opposition to backup sort out Josh Wells:

What is horrifying is the truth that Parsons remains to be rounding out his array of pass-rushing strikes off the sting. Whereas in faculty, Parsons flashed the traits to be a profitable move rusher, however was utilized in extra of an off-ball function. In accordance with the 2021 Professional Soccer Focus draft information, and PFF’s charting knowledge, Parsons performed 731 defensive snaps throughout the 2019 season, his final in faculty soccer as he opted-out of the 2020 season. Of these snaps, 590 noticed him aligned within the field — in distinction with 59 snaps alongside the line of defense — and PFF charted him with simply 94 pass-rushing snaps.

Nonetheless, the traits have been there for him to be a productive move rusher. As famous by PFF of their information, “[h]e’s bought the kind of dimension and ability set that would make him the primary edge rusher drafted if he wished to change to that place.”

Below Dan Quinn in Dallas, Parsons has been used usually as an edge defender, and the outcomes converse for themselves. Final season, Parsons noticed 374 of his 902 snaps alongside the sting, and that utilization has elevated this season. Of his 120 defensive snaps this season, 95 have include him on the sting.

And as we shut this out with a have a look at his second sack on Sunday, as he makes use of one other rip transfer to the surface in opposition to Jonah Williams, we will be reminded that he’s simply getting began at taking part in off the sting:

Think about what this might appear to be when he items all of it collectively?