Cowboys LB Micah Parsons is a star with Jalen Hurts MVP comments

Micah Parsons claimed he didn’t want to give the Eagles any bulletin board material ahead of the Cowboys’ clash with their division rival on Christmas Eve.

He then gave the quarterback a massive box of extra motivation. It was wrapped and decorated with a shiny bow.

The Dallas linebacker sat down with Von Miller on the Broncos star’s podcast Tuesday, and the topic turned to Philadelphia passer Jalen Hurts and the MVP-caliber season he’s having. And that’s when Parsons played devil’s advocate.

Most likely, it caused a firestorm.

“Is it Hurts or the team?” last season’s Defensive Rookie of the Year asked.

Miller hedged his bets, giving credit for the Eagles’ one-loss record to both parties.

Parsons disagreed.

“It’s system and team!”

“I’m not trying to make no enemies,” Parsons went on to explain on The VonCast. “I just love the game so much, and I understand it so much, that when things are off, I just can’t hold it in. I’ve almost got to say something.”

There’s a lot to unpack there in just a couple sentences.

Parsons knows his words will be heard by Hurts and Philadelphia with only ten days (and another match) before the NFC East rivals meet. And while he says he’s not purposely setting out to ruffle any Eagle feathers… he’s also not ready to hand Hurts any hardware quite yet.

Hurts currently has 3,157 passing yards, a number that’s good for 10th in the league, but still 1,003 yards behind Kansas City’s Patrick Mahomes. His 68.0 completion percentage is top-three, his 22 touchdown throws are tied for fifth, his three interceptions are the fewest for any quarterback who’s played the whole year, and his 108.4 passer rating is tops in the NFL.

Oh, and he’s in the top 20 on the league’s rushing yardage list, too.

But Parsons’s answer references “when things are off,” presumably for Hurts and the Eagles. Although he didn’t elaborate, it’s not immediately clear what he was referring to.

Philadelphia has won four straight and 12 of thirteen overall.

Hurts did complete just 57.1% and threw for just 153 yards in a seven-point win over Green Bay… but that’s a team Dallas blew a 14-point lead against.

And he was held to under 200 yards in a one-point squeaker over Indianapolis… but that’s a team the Cowboys were also losing to before an absurd fourth-quarter explosion of points. Hurts scored the game-winning touchdown in the Colts’ final 90 seconds.

Parsons is referring to Parsons only throwing 15 passes against Dallas in their first meeting. Because two of those touchdowns were catches, Hurts was asked by the Eagles to pass the ball to Hurts that night – 30 times (and run it another nine times) in order to win a nine-point Eagles victory.

If those are examples of things being “off,” there are 31 other squads who would gladly take the Eagles’ off days every single Sunday.

Parsons was able to record seven tackles against Philly in Week 6. He wasn’t able to sack Hurts, but he did have two passes defensed and got a tackle for loss.

Parsons’ podcast quote only confirmed his belief that the Eagles were a good team. A.J. is a dual-receiving threat and the running game tied for second-most yards rushing. Brown and DaVonta Smith (both in the top 25 in receiving yards), plus a very solid offensive line and a defense that’s second-best in yards allowed per game, Philadelphia sits atop most outlets’ power rankings for good reason.

“But everyone has their own opinions,” Parsons sagely said.

Indeed. He is right.