Packers’ Micah Parsons Seeks Surprising Thing in ‘Dark Place’

GREEN BAY, Wis. – Aretha Franklin is the “Queen of Soul.” Micah Parsons is the king of pressure. Franklin famously sang about Respect. Parsons is looking to earn it.

Really.

“Rivalries are for the people. It’s for the fans,” Parsons said on Thursday in anticipation of his first taste of the Green Bay Packers-Chicago Bears rivalry. “For me, it’s just going out there and just dominating.

“I just don’t like them because I see the disrespect that comes with things, and that’s why I say I play for respect. To earn somebody’s respect is beating the sh** out of them. There’s no better feeling than coming into the game and their best players are coming up to and are like, ‘Yeah, OK.’ That’s respect.”

The NFC North-leading Bears earned their respect with a signature victory at the Eagles last week by running the ball for 281 yards. They’ll probably use that same format against Green Bay.

“It’s disrespectful,” he said. “They’re saying, ‘We’re going to come punch you in the mouth; there’s nothing you’re going to do about it.’”

But isn’t it respectful to want to run the football so you don’t have to deal with Parsons’ pass-rushing excellence?

Finally, Parsons relented.

“Yeah, but you’ve got to trick your mind to go into a dark place. You can’t look at the bright side all the time,” he said to laughter. “‘You can still the rush the passer.’ No, no, no, no, no. That’s something your mom would tell you.”

Parsons is one of the best players in the NFL. He’s got the Pro Bowl and All-Pro accolades. He’s got the stats and historic production. He’s got the money.

He insists he doesn’t have enough respect.

“I think every week people question my worth,” he said. “People try to belittle me and try to take away my name. When you’re the best, that’s what happens – you are talked about, you’re looked at more closely. I could go out there and have five sacks and people would say, ‘Oh, it’s coverage sacks. They held the ball.’ They’re going to find something.

“You’ll never prove anything wrong, but I will say, for me, you’ll never question how hard I play. Sh**, I could go out there and have TFLs and they’ll still me I’m not physical. It don’t matter what you do or what you put on tape, as long as it’s about winning, I’m a winner. I’ve got to find a way to win. So, yeah, I’m still earning my respect, and it’s a year in, year out thing. You could be the best this year, and you could earn your respect and then the following year you can fall off. And it would be like, ‘Hmm.’ So, respect is being consistent.”

If it takes a “dark place” to find motivation, defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley is ready to install some room-darkening drapes and turn off the lights.

“I think all great players are motivated,” he said. “I’d like to know who in the right mind would disrespect Micah Parsons. That’s a whole other story. But, yeah, I think a lot of good coaches and good players go into a dark place on gameday and do whatever it takes to win the game.

“So, I’m sure he finds a really good one to get into because it seems to be working for him really well. But I don’t know how anybody could disrespect him at all, the way he plays the game, and it’s not just the production and the sacks. It’s just the way he plays the game, how hard he plays it, the knowledge that he has for the game. But I hope he goes into a really dark place on Sunday. So, I’m excited to see that.”

Green Bay Packers defensive end Micah Parsons (1) celebrates after sacking Minnesota Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy. | Tork Mason / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Parsons is having a lights-out season. He’s third in the NFL with 12.5 sacks and fourth with 24 quarterback hits, according to the official stats. According to Pro Football Focus, he’s third in the league in pressures while ranking second among edge rushers in double-team percentage and first in triple-team percentage.

That’s the ultimate sign of respect.

For Parsons, respect means, “They tell you, ‘Hell of a job.’ You’ve got to go out there and take it. Respect is something that’s earned, and these people want to come here and they want to beat us in our house and we got to eventually go there.

“Someone comes sh** on your lawn, what would you say? It’s a respect thing, especially losing a couple of games at home and the way we lost them in that fashion, I think we have to come together as a defense to get our respect back, and it starts Sunday.”

Parsons is having an exceptional season. While Myles Garrett is running away with the sacks title and is the overwhelming favorite to win NFL Defensive Player of the Year at FanDuel Sportsbook, the impact Parsons has made is undeniable.

Instead of being favored to be in first place in the NFC North by the end of Sunday, the Packers might be flirting with a .500 record if not for Parsons’ clutch plays. He has six sacks in the last three games, including a critical one on third-and-goal against the Lions last week. He leads the league with eight sacks in the fourth quarter or overtime.

He needs two sacks in the next five games to set a career high. According to Next Gen Stats, he entered Week 14 ranked first in pressures and second in pressure percentage.

With the Packers in position to earn the No. 1 seed, Parsons has proven to be worth the enormous price tag to acquire him at the end of training camp.

“I think I’m having a pretty good year. I just want to sustain it these last five weeks,” he said. “I read the same thing you guys read. ‘He never finishes the year.’ Well, it’s time to go finish the year. It’s been a great first half. I’ve done this before, 12 sacks, pressures, QB hits, wins. Done all that.

“I just want to finish the year. I want to leave no doubt. Leave no doubt. That’s where I’m at with it. Leave no doubt.”

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