Micah Parsons Is Wrecking Game Plans Even If Sack Totals Don’t Show It Yet

As he returns to Dallas to face the Cowboys this week, Micah Parsons has put up ridiculous pressure numbers despite getting double- and triple-teamed.

Green Bay Packers defensive end Micah Parsons has wrecked double- and triple-team blocks. / Tork Mason-USA TODAY Network via Imagn Images

GREEN BAY, Wis. – What is the expectation for Green Bay Packers defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley when double-teams await one of his prized pass rushers?

“Triple teams” Hafley interjected.

That’s Micah Parsons.

Parsons has been everything the Packers hoped for when they acquired him from this week’s opponent, the Dallas Cowboys, last month. According to Next Gen Stats, he is second in the NFL with 19 pressures. He’s done it while getting double- and, yes, triple-teamed.

According to Pro Football Focus, Parsons has been double-teamed on 67.0 percent of his pass rushes. Only Cleveland’s Myles Garrett, at 69.6 percent, gets a higher percentage of double-team blocks. Parsons has been triple-teamed 11.3 percent of the time. He’s the only player at greater than 10.0 percent among edge rushers with at least 40 pass-rushing opportunities.

“People don’t realize how hard it is to get sacks in the NFL,” Parsons said on Wednesday. “We all don’t get freebies, at least I’m not in that world. So, I got to work for them.”

The presence of Parsons has almost single-handedly given Hafley an elite pass rush. Last season, according to Next Gen, the Packers tied for 18th with 210 pressures. Their pressure rate was 32.3 percent.

This season, the Packers are sixth with 49 pressures – a pace for 277. Their pressure percentage is only up a bit to 36.6 percent, but opponents have had to resort to quick passes, meaning Green Bay is No. 1 with 4.0 yards allowed per passing play – exactly 2.0 yards less than last season.

“If he’s going to get double-teamed and triple-teamed, we’re going to have a lot of guys with a lot of sacks and a lot of pressures,” Hafley said, “and we’re going to start drawing up some fun stuff that’s going to force them either not to double him, or we’re going to have someone free, like we did a couple times in that game.

“So, him getting doubled helps us out an unbelievable amount. Now, when you watch him get doubled, he still gets close to the quarterback, which is incredible. The motor that he has, how hard he plays, how low he gets [is impressive]. But there’s some other guys out there now you start paying too much attention to him.”

Rashan Gary leads the NFL with 4.5 sacks. Lukas Van Ness is on pace for more pressures this season than his first two seasons combined. Devonte Wyatt is second among interior defenders in pressures, according to PFF.

“And then you have Edgerrin Cooper, who might be popping out and wrapping this way, and Quay Walker, who might be coming off the edge this way,” Hafley said. “So, go double him. He might still get you. And then the other guys are going to get you, too.”

While Parsons downplayed the matchup against his former team, it would only be human nature for him to want to wreck his former team. Of course, no team knows how quickly Parsons can wreck an opponent than the Cowboys.

In other words, there will be no freebies on Sunday night.

“I got a great challenge in front of me,” he said. “I know they’re not going to make it easy for me. I know they got a plan for me, but it’s not about me. If they worry about me, I got other guys. I got D-Wy, I got Karl (Brooks), I got Rashan, who’s dominating this year, so we got a group of guys that they need to focus on, so I have that to my advantage.”

NFL’s Best Pass Rushers in 2025

The first six players listed here lead the NFL in pressures, according to Next Gen Stats. Also listed is the NFL’s sacks leader, Rashan Gary. Double-team rate is from Pro Football Focus.

Nik Bonitto, Broncos: 21 pressures. Pressure rate: 31.3 percent. Double-team rate: 29.6 percent.

Micah Parsons, Packers: 19 pressures. Pressure rate: 21.8 percent. Double-team rate: 65.7 percent.

Dorance Armstrong, Commanders: 18 pressures. Pressure rate: 25.0 percent. Double-team rate: 46.0 percent.

YaYa Diaby, Buccaneers: 18 pressures. Pressure rate: 21.4 percent. Double-team rate: 35.2 percent.

Will Anderson, Texans: 17 pressures. Pressure rate: 19.3 percent. Double-team rate: 51.6 percent.

Josh Hines-Allen, Jaguars: 16 pressures. Pressure rate: 17.4 percent. Double-team rate: 23.4 percent.

Rashan Gary, Packers: 12 pressures. Pressure rate: 13.6 percent. Double-team rate: 47.4 percent.

Green Bay Packers defensive end Karl Brooks (94) is shown with defensive end Micah Parsons against Detroit in Week 1. / Mark Hoffman/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

NFL’s Premier Edge Rushers in 2025

Micah Parsons is universally considered one of the top pass rushers in the NFL. So are these other players.

Micah Parsons, Packers: 19 pressures. Pressure rate: 21.8 percent. Double-team rate: 65.7 percent.

Trey Hendrickson, Bengals: 15 pressures. Pressure rate: 16.3 percent. Double-team rate: 56.0 percent.

Aidan Hutchinson, Lions: 13 pressures. Pressure rate: 14.9 percent. Double-team rate: 60.0 percent.

Myles Garrett, Browns: 12 pressures. Pressure rate: 16.0 percent. Double-team rate: 69.6 percent.

T.J. Watt, Steelers: 12 pressures. Pressure rate: 14.5 percent. Double-team rate: 41.0 percent.

Maxx Crosby, Raiders: 12 pressures. Pressure rate: 11.4 percent. Double-team rate: 40.6 percent.

Danielle Hunter, Texans: 11 pressures. Pressure rate: 12.0 percent. Double-team rate: 62.5 percent.

Nick Bosa, 49ers: 10 pressures. Pressure rate: 16.1 percent. Double-team rate: 45.5 percent.

As good as Parsons has been – and it’s been obvious whether you’re watching the game or looking at the numbers – bigger things should be in store as Hafley learns how to maximize Parsons’ talents.

In a perfect world, Hafley would have had Parsons here for training camp to draw up a plan and build chemistry between Parsons and the rest of the defenders. That process is being done on the fly.

“We see what he does in games, we see what he’s good at, and we have been building off of that and the players, too, working together,” Hafley said. “I’ll give you an example to try to make sense of what I’m saying without going into much detail schematically. There was a pressure that we ran where he was set up to run it with another player, but he went so fast – and he’s so fast – that it really, looking back, wasn’t the right spot to put him in.

“So, on that call, we’ve learned it’s better to let him do something else on that because of how fast he did it, right? So, what I’m saying is, as we watch him live, because it’s faster than practice, there are certain things that we’re tweaking, and him and the linebackers and him and the other defensive lineman are figuring out how to work well together. So, I see that getting better and better as we go.”

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