'Cowboys Changed My Life!' MVP Candidate Micah Parsons
The last defensive player to win NFL MVP was Hall of Famer Lawrence Taylor of the New York Giants in 1986. Micah Parsons of the Dallas Cowboys is as likely as any active player to snap that streak, and he looked the part of the best player in the sport Sunday against the New York Jets.
In a dominant 30-10 win over the Aaron Rodgers-less Jets, Parsons recorded four tackles, three of which were for a loss. For good measure, Parsons added four quarterback hits, two them ending with him sacking quarterback Zach Wilson.
And what fuels Micah?
“I’m just hungry,'' the Lion-backer said in the winning locker room. "This organization changed my life, so I’m trying to give back to the fans and Mr. Jerry Jones.”
It wasn't just the statistical output that Parsons had Sunday, though. There's a quality that very few defenders in NFL history have, where you can flip on their highlights and quickly help someone who has never seen them play understand why they are one of the all-time greats. The aforementioned Taylor and fellow Hall of Famer Reggie White are two players that fit into that category. Aaron Donald of the Los Angeles Rams does as well. And with each passing game where he looks like a man among boys on an NFL field, Parsons is starting to feel like one of those guys.
So what would it take for Parsons to actually have a chance to win an award almost always given to a quarterback? First of all, it would take relative down seasons from the majority of the likely candidates, such as Patrick Mahomes of the Kansas City Chiefs, Joe Burrow of the Cincinnati Bengals and Josh Allen of the Buffalo Bills. The Cowboys might need to be the No. 1 seed in the NFC as well. And, of course, Parsons would need to put up video-game type production for 17 games. Through the first two weeks of the season, all three of those scenarios seem to be in play.
Micah Parsons is off to an unreal start for the Dallas Cowboys in 2023. (USA Today)
Parsons already has three sacks, four tackles for a loss and six quarterback hits to show for just two games. Barring injury, he seems like a lock to be a First-Team All-Pro for the third time in as many NFL seasons. The 24-year-old has to be the heavy favorite to win the Defensive Player of the Year, an award he's finished runner-up for in each of his first two NFL seasons.
And hey, perhaps the stars will align for Parsons to join Taylor and another Hall of Famer -- Minnesota Vikings great Alan Page -- as the only defensive players to ever win NFL MVP.
