Micah Parsons blasts Dak Prescott treatment and explains media silence
Dallas Cowboys linebacker Micah Parsons pounced on the Philadelphia Eagles' surprising loss to the New York Jets this past Sunday to make a point about how people mistreat Dak Prescott.
Parsons questioned why media members lambasted Prescott after defeats to the Arizona Cardinals and San Francisco 49ers, while Hurts escaped the worst criticism following the Jets result. Parsons claimed critics were singling out his team this season and attributed his recent avoidance of reporters to that gripe.
"I don't condone the bashing of Dak Prescott and the Dallas Cowboys, and [I want people to] have the same energy for the Eagles," Parsons said on "The Edge" podcast. "We want the same energy for everybody because there's a whole lot of bashing when it's Dak Prescott, but not the same when it's the Eagles."
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"I got time today," Parsons continued. "A lot of people said the Browns defense was overhyped. I said the Browns are the real deal. [FOX analyst Emmanuel] Acho said this, which pissed me off: 'I'm not worried about the 49ers, they were missing Christian McCaffrey [and] Deebo Samuel.' The Browns were missing Deshaun Watson, Nick Chubb! They were missing key factors before the game even started."
Joe Burrow backs Patrick Mahomes after Kansas City Chiefs reach Super BowlParsons added: "Why is it that we are just scrubs and we're nobodies that don't deserve to be on the field, that we're just all talk? But there's a 100 excuses for these other teams. If y'all just gonna hate Cowboys nation, just say y'all hate Cowboys Nation."
Hurts' late interception on Sunday enabled the Jets to stage a game-winning drive. The Eagles hadn't lost before Week 6 and reached the Super Bowl last season. They remain atop the NFC East.
As Parsons noted, San Francisco dropped their first game of the year to the Cleveland Browns. A week earlier, though, they defeated the Cowboys 42-10.
Prescott has faced intense scrutiny for several years, partly because he plays for one of the NFL's most polarising teams but also because he threw a league-high 15 interceptions in 2022 and has a 2-4 career playoff record. This season, his passer is virtually the same as last year (91 compared with 91.1).
Still, the Cowboys are on track to secure a postseason berth with the help of one of the NFL's best defenses. In beating the Los Angeles Chargers 20-17 on Monday, the Parsons-led unit has now held four opponents under 20 points this campaign.
Prescott showed personal improvement against the Chargers, completing 21 of his 30 pass attempts for 271 yards, a touchdown and no interceptions. He also ran for 40 yards and a score. Parsons hopes the quarterback can replicate that production in two weeks against the Eagles - and wants critics to lay off him in the meantime.
"I'm tired of people trashing my quarterback," Parsons told his podcast listeners. "I'm tired of people trashing my team, and that's why I had nothing to say to the media this week."