Watch All of Micah Parsons’ 4.5 Sacks of Jayden Daniels; Can He Duplicate?

GREEN BAY, Wis. – On Thursday, the Green Bay Packers will host the Washington Commanders in a showdown between two of the top teams in the NFL. That means Commanders coach Dan Quinn will get another look at the player he used to coach in Dallas, Micah Parsons.

“I’d sit him this week,” Parsons jokingly told Commanders beat reporters on Tuesday.

No kidding. Parsons sacked Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels 4.5 times last season – 2.0 in Week 12 in Washington and 2.5 in the finale in Dallas in what wound up being Parsons’ final game with the Cowboys.

When the Packers traded for Parsons, he said he’s “going to say things I probably shouldn’t say off emotion.” Asked about his domination over the Commanders on Tuesday, though, Parsons wasn’t going to provide any bulletin-board material. Instead, he deflected the praise to his former defensive coordinator, Mike Zimmer.

He’s hoping his new defensive coordinator, Jeff Hafley, will put him in position for similar success.

“That was Zim. He kind of mastered, schemed some things up, but Haf got some things schemed up,” Parsons said. “But just understand who you’re playing against, understand they’re just an explosive team starting with that quarterback and it just means a lot more. You got to get to him.”

In the game at Dallas:

- The first full sack came while aligned outside left tackle Brandon Coleman. This was a hustle and speed sack.

Micah Parsons had 4.5 sacks vs. Washington last year. Here's No. 1. pic.twitter.com/wEp3D38Z7Y
— Bill Huber (@BillHuberNFL) September 10, 2025

- The second full sack came when lined up directly over backup center Michael Dieter. Parsons won that matchup in the blink of an eye.

Micah Parsons had 4.5 sacks vs. Washington last year. Here's No. 2. pic.twitter.com/3K5GdcYUNK
— Bill Huber (@BillHuberNFL) September 10, 2025

- The half-sack came when aligned over the center again. Parsons appeared to be spying Daniels; when Daniels tried to run up the middle, Parsons quickly closed the gap.

Micah Parsons had 4.5 sacks vs. Washington last year. Here's No. 2.5. pic.twitter.com/Wc2m7OWT3X
— Bill Huber (@BillHuberNFL) September 10, 2025

In the game at Washington:

- The first full sack came on a designed rollout. Aligned outside right tackle Andrew Wylie, Parsons kept contain, beat Wylie and running back Brian Robinson, and dropped Daniels when he took off on a scramble.

Micah Parsons had 4.5 sacks vs. Washington last year. Here's No. 3.5. pic.twitter.com/VViIlrz0TV
— Bill Huber (@BillHuberNFL) September 10, 2025

- The second full sack came with Parsons aligned outside of left guard Nick Allegretti. Parsons quickly beat Allegretti, flushed Daniels from the pocket and got the sack.

Micah Parsons had 4.5 sacks vs. Washington last year. Here's the last one. pic.twitter.com/1YX1uNLL72
— Bill Huber (@BillHuberNFL) September 10, 2025

Looking ahead to Thursday night, Coleman isn’t the team’s left tackle (he’s the left guard), Dieter isn’t on the roster, Wylie isn’t the right tackle and Allegretti isn’t the left guard (he’s the right guard).

But Daniels is the quarterback, and he’s as dangerous as any quarterback in the NFL. Last year, he won NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year honors to help the Commanders reach the NFC Championship Game. As a passer, Daniels ranked sixth in completion percentage and 10th in passer rating. Including the postseason, he had eight games with 100-plus passer ratings, including 122.9 in the blowout playoff win at Detroit.

As a runner, Daniels had 891 yards and six touchdowns in the regular season and 135 yards and one touchdown in the postseason. Added together, Daniels rushed for 1,026 yards with a 5.6-yard average in 20 games.

Daniels is an electric athlete. He had six games of 65-plus rushing yards last season and did it again against the Giants on Sunday.

Pass-rush discipline is always critical against athletic quarterbacks. There will need to be a different rush plan against Daniels than there was against Jared Goff on Sunday. Parsons, however, downplayed that on Tuesday because of the speed of Green Bay’s defense, which includes his defensive player in fantasy football, Edgerrin Cooper.

“Well, I guess that just depends what type of players you got,” he said. “We got horse engines now. I don’t see nobody outrunning me from the edge and stuff and I played them a bunch. He knows it’s different. It’s different. He’s used to them 6-5, 260 D-ends. This thing 245, 250, you know what I mean? That engine’s a little bit different than them 80s.

“For me, I don’t think it’s just pick and choosing. I just got to make sure I get vertical if I’m going to take the inside move and make sure that he don’t outrun me to our pinpoint. We’re going to give up some 5-yard runs or he’s going to get loose once or twice, but the things is to make sure it’s not consecutive.”

Quinn knows about those engines. He was the Cowboys’ defensive coordinator for Parsons’ first three seasons in the NFL. Dallas finished in the top seven in points allowed all three seasons.

“In Dallas, he was one of our fastest players, so that’s the hardest thing to simulate for an offensive tackle to see the first couple, two or three steps,” Quinn told reporters. “It’s not at a speed that you can simulate in a practice rep. So, early on, I think there’s been some rushes that he could surprise some people if you haven’t faced him, knowing that he can really jump off the ball.”

Parsons is a freak. So is Daniels. The reigning NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year is an elite combination of athleticism and arm talent. He helped the Commanders go from 4-13 in 2023 to 12-5 and a run to the NFC Championship Game in 2024.

It will take all 11 to keep Daniels contained on Thursday.

“For what he’s done in a short period of time in this league, it’s incredible,” Hafley said. “It jumps off the tape. You talk about Micah’s speed. Again, Micah’s got speed. You saw him run sideline to sideline in that game but we have other guys who have speed, too.

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