Micah Parsons returned to the lineup Sunday for the Dallas Cowboys after missing several games with an ankle injury. His return could not have come at a better time, with the Cowboys hosting the Philadelphia Eagles in a game that could fairly be described as a “must-win” contest for the Cowboys. Sitting at 3-5 entering Week 10, and looking up at the Eagles and the Washington Commanders in the division, Dallas was seeing their playoff hopes quickly fade. With Dak Prescott out for what could be the remainder of the season as he seeks a second opinion Monday on his hamstring injury, the defense would need to step up, and having Parsons back offered a huge boost.
The pass rusher made a pivotal play early in the game, forcing a trip-sack of Eagles passer Jalen Hurts that gifted the Cowboys tremendous field position. With Philadelphia facing a 2nd and 9 in their own territory just before the two-minute warning, Parsons bullied his way to Hurts on an inside stunt, knocking the ball loose:
Dallas recovered, and their offense took the field for 1st and goal at the Eagles’ 6-yard line, trailing just 7-3.
That play was perhaps the last highlight of the afternoon for the Cowboys. They failed to punch the ball into the end zone and settled for a field goal, only to see the Eagles score the next 27 points en route to Philadelphia’s 34-6 win.
While what Parsons did early in the game was impressive, what he said afterward might be more memorable. Speaking with the media, Parsons outlined who he felt for in the Dallas locker room, drawing a clear distinction.
“That’s above my pay grade [whether] Mike is coaching again next year,” Parsons said to the media as quoted by Jori Epstein at Yahoo. “Coaching, Mike can leave and go wherever he wants. Guys I kind of feel bad for [are veteran right guard] Zack Martin and guys who might be on their last year or on their way out. Because that’s who I wanted to hold the trophy for.”
Parsons was not done.
“You want to win games and do great things with those type of legends who put in more time and work than Mike McCarthy ever did,” Parsons added. “Those are the kind of guys that I have so much sympathy and hurt for.”
Parsons was clearly frustrated with Dallas dropping to 3-6, and seemed most frustrated with the idea that veterans like Zack Martin could be in their final season with Dallas. Martin restructured his contract back in March, and while his contract runs through 2028 four of those seasons are void years, meaning this could be his last season with the Cowboys.
The pass rusher’s comments make it seem as if that might be the case.
Naturally, the part of Parson’s comments regarding McCarthy will draw the most attention. However, it is natural for a player to find a certain kinship and camaraderie with another player, and not a head coach, in this situation. As Parsons alludes to, McCarthy can go on and find another coaching job, but a player’s time in the league is finite. If Martin is not just leaving the Cowboys, but staring down retirement, one might understand how his teammates would feel about that given Dallas’s season is circling the drain.
As you might expect, Parsons was not the only one talking in Dallas Sunday night. Owner Jerry Jones — when he was not continuing to defend the layout of AT&T Stadium, which led to CeeDee Lamb dropping a pass in the end zone he could not see because of the glare from the sun — seemed to indicate that McCarthy would at least finish out the season, and that “hope” remains in Dallas.
“I don’t even understand not having hope,” said Jones.
“I changed coaches in the season with Wade [Phillips] and have always regretted it,” Jones said Sunday night. “And as a matter of fact, I made a change with Chan Gailey after two years. I regretted that. That’s not enough. You need to give yourself a chance.”
Sitting at 3-6, the Cowboys do not have much of a chance. At the moment Dallas has around a 4% chance of even making the playoffs, and the Cowboys are closer to the first-overall selection in the 2025 NFL Draft than they are to the playoffs.
And with Prescott potentially sidelined for the rest of the season, and star players like Lamb and Parsons frustrated with the results, things are spinning away from Dallas faster than anyone could have predicted.
