Thursday night was an emotional roller coaster for the Dallas Cowboys, who were on the road in Week 1 playing against the defending champion Philadelphia Eagles.
Their offense was on fire in the first half while their defense couldn’t stop a nose bleed. In the second half, it was reversed as the defense surrendered just three points while the offense failed to score, leading to a 24-20 defeat.
As expected, much of the focus during the game was on the Dallas defensive front, which was without Micah Parsons for the first time since he was traded to the Green Bay Packers.
Without Parsons, the Cowboys recorded just one sack and allowed Jalen Hurts to run for 62 yards and two touchdowns. Following the game, defensive end Sam Williams was asked about trying to replace Parsons, and he wasn’t having it.
“I feel like everybody’s really tired of that question. You know, Micah’s gone. So I feel like we should stop bringing up his name. You know, he’s in Green Bay. You should ask about the Cowboys and worry about what we got in the locker room. You know, Micah is always going to be part of the family, especially in D line rooms. But other than that, that’s just business,” Williams said.
“You gotta go ask David. That’s his agent. I don’t have no say — Jerry Jones, you gotta ask him. But me, I’m worried about me, you know? I can give you his number, you can call Micah and ask him any questions you need, OK?. But me, please don’t ask me no question about it, man. He is him and I am me.”
While the Cowboys missed Parsons, it also felt a little overblown. Williams, Dante Fowler Jr., Marshawn Kneeland, and rookie Donvan Ezeiruaku each generated pressures at different points in the game.
The real problem was the inability to keep Hurts from escaping the pressure and running for huge gains. Once he got past the linemen, there was no help to be found, which is a problem that could have been remedied by the presence of DeMarvion Overshown more so than Parsons.
Either way, the Cowboys have no intention of spending the entire year discussing Parsons. Like Williams, they all wish him well but understand that moving on is the right call.
