PHILADELPHIA — Merry Christmas from Dallas, Eagles fans. Cowboys star pass rusher Micah Parsons just guaranteed that they’ll keep playing like maniacs down the stretch — especially on Christmas Eve, when the teams meet at Dallas in a game that could lock in the top of the NFC’s playoff picture.
The ‘Boys’ best player on Tuesday said Jalen Hurts, the MVP favorite and the best quarterback in the NFL by every measurable, isn’t the main reason the Eagles are 12-1. He said it on The Voncast with Von Miller, the Bills’ injured pass rusher.
As if Hurts, the most aggrieved player since Tom Brady, needs more reason to overachieve.
Make no mistake: This was no out-of-context sound bite. Parsons posed the question whether Hurts was the catalyst or a byproduct of a multifaceted attack that has averaged 41 points the last three games and stands two games clear of both the 9-3 Cowboys and Vikings in the race to the NFC’s No. 1 seed. Hurts has been credited with too much of the Eagles’ success, said Parsons, citing his unwavering commitment to frank evaluation:
“I’m not trying to make no enemies. ... When things are off, I just can’t hold it in.”
The pride of Penn State was throwing more shade than a sequoia. He was insistent that Hurts be diminished, even as Miller tried to moderate the criticisms.
Significantly, it was Parsons, not Miller, who began the roast.
Parsons: Is it Hurts or the team?
Miller: I think it’s a little bit of both, man.
Parsons: It’s system and team! (laughing)
Miller: I think it’s a little bit of both, man. Because they’ve got a great offensive line, which helps Hurts. Hurts has A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith. They had a good running game.
Parsons (admiringly): Miles Sanders ...
Miller: The scheme that they have ...
Parsons: O-line ... I mean, bruh. Like ...
Miller (in a warning tone): This Eagles-Cowboys (game) is coming up, ain’t it?
Parsons: Yeah, it’s coming up. I’m not trying to make no enemies. I just love the game so much. And I understand it so much that, like, I can’t ... When things are off, I just can’t hold it in. I’ve almost got to say something.
Miller: You’re right. They’ve got a great team, great defense.
Parsons: But everyone has their own opinions.
Miller: So, Jalen Hurts ...
Parsons: He’s good. He’s good.
Miller: ... They got him for the MVP race with Patrick Mahomes. His stats and what he’s been doing with the numbers that he’s putting up are MVP worthy. Just like what Patrick Mahomes is doing.
The pair seem to realize how slippery their slope is becoming as the conversation progresses, but neither comes close to capitulation.
Parsons’ level of hubris and arrogance is exceeded only the level of ignorance. What’s more, he has given the Eagles incentive to focus over their last four games. Finally, he’s made himself a villain in Philly for life.
For who? For what?
Philly’s a town that, in its finest football hour, adopted a badly performed and utterly profane song as its anthem: “No one likes us, we don’t care.”
It’s a song which, by its very existence, contradicts itself. We care so much that we sing a song about it. Philly’s more sensitive than a baby’s tender bottom.
And now, just when he’s getting the respect he so badly craves, Hurts has another grievance to fuel his obsession to prove himself — an obsession that leads to off-day film sessions and 5 a.m. arrivals and 8 p.m. departures and 50 passes after practice and 10 extra sprints and 20 more squats.
This direct insult from perhaps the conference’s best player is just another chip for his shoulder. Parsons is in his second season. Hurts is in his third. They’ll face each other at least twice a year for the next decade.
A blood feud is born.
Goody.
Is Parsons wrong?
In a word, yes. Hurts has 22 passing touchdowns, three interceptions, 10 rushing touchdowns, 3,157 passing yards, 686 rushing yards, and his passer rating of 108 leads the NFL.
Still, this is a complicated issue.
Without question, Hurts and his paltry $1 million salary afforded for the Eagles the ability to complement him lavishly. Fletcher Cox, Haason Reddick, James Bradberry, Jason Kelce, and A.J. Brown are all feeding from a trough that, on other teams, feeds stars like Patrick Mahomes, Aaron Rodgers, and Russell Wilson.
The situation is complicated further by an almost universal admiration for Parsons, a Nittany Lions legend who delivered in the NFL star. He’s the best at his job since Lawrence Taylor. He’s likable and outspoken, if fallible, and willing to display just how poorly informed he is.
Parsons last week questioned why WNBA star Brittney Griner should be released from a Russian prison for carrying a small amount of weed ...
rather than Paul Whelan, a disgraced former Marine who is serving time for alleged espionage and whose release was never considered by the Russians.
All that said, Parsons, while impetuous, remains the best thing to happen to Dallas since J.R. Ewing got shot. And yes, that includes all of the Jerry Jones-era Super Bowls, won by a cast of characters so despicable that America’s team became America’s embarrassment.
At any rate, if there was any fear of complacency besetting a team with 12 wins with four games to go, consider Micah Parsons the antidote.
