Cowboys defense, LB Micah Parsons ‘a great test’ for Cardinals offense

A lot of the talk this week ahead of the Arizona Cardinals’ matchup against the Cowboys has been about the stellar play of quarterback Dak Prescott and Dallas’ offense.

But for as productive as the offense has been, the same can be said about the Cowboys defense, which has been turned up to another level with rookie linebacker Micah Parsons finding his stride early on in his NFL career.

While Parsons likely has the Defensive Rookie of the Year already sealed up, the linebacker is vying for NFL Defensive Player of the Year honors with the type of impact he’s having on games.

In the first 15 games of this NFL career, Parsons has totaled 13 sacks, 79 tackles, 18 of which were for losses, 29 QB hits, three passes defensed and three forced fumbles.

To sum it all up, the rookie has been an absolute problem for opposing offenses.

“Micah’s doing an unbelievable job for them,” Cardinals tight end Zach Ertz said Thursday. “This year, (Cowboys defensive coordinator) Dan Quinn’s got him playing extremely fast, using him as the explosive player that he is. And so I feel like a lot of credit goes to Dan and the way he’s using all of his pieces right now.

“We got to play sound football, we can’t be in 3rd-and-longs. That’s what these guys look for. At the end of the day, though, they want to rush the passer. So we got to be efficient on first and second down. But ultimately, those guys are rolling. I got a lot of respect for that team and that defense, obviously. But we just got to be on our A-Game on Sunday.”

While Parsons is the headlining act, he’s not the only playmaking defender the Cardinals have to prepare for, with defensive linemen DeMarcus Lawrence and Randy Gregory down in the trenches and cornerback Trevon Diggs patrolling the secondary.

Gregory (6) and Lawrence (2) have combined for eight sacks, while Diggs leads the NFL in interceptions (11) and is tied for the league lead in passes defensed (21).

Together, they form one of the most opportunistic defenses in the league, posting a +14 turnover differential, tied with the Indianapolis Colts for second in the NFL behind only the Green Bay Packers at +16. Dallas’ 25 interceptions also pace the league.

“They do a phenomenal job of getting off the ball, their get-off is elite,” Cardinals offensive lineman Kelvin Beachum said Tuesday. “It’s one thing to have one freak across the defensive line, but when you got four freaks, there’s a lot of back and forth. … They’re a very talented defense top to bottom, very talented roster.

“They do present some challenges that we’re excited to go and face. It’s gonna be a great opponent for us, it’s gonna be a great defense for us to go and put what we know we have within this building on display. It’s gonna be a great test for us.”

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