- The Dallas Cowboys and Green Bay Packers played to a 40-40 tie, the NFL’s highest-scoring tie game since 1970.
- Cowboys owner Jerry Jones defended trading Micah Parsons, stating quarterback Dak Prescott was ‘indispensable’ while Parsons was not.
- Parsons, now with the Packers, made a crucial overtime sack on Prescott but expressed disappointment in his new team’s defensive performance.
ARLINGTON, TX – Micah 40, Jerry 40.
The wild drama at AT&T Stadium on Sunday night would not have been complete without a few more not-so-subtle jabs from Micah Parsons and Jerry Jones.
Overtime just wasn’t enough.
So, during his traditional postgame media buffet outside the locker room, the Dallas Cowboys owner set the record straight on why he made quarterback Dak Prescott the highest-paid player in NFL history with a $60 million-per-year deal and ultimately shipped Parsons to the Green Bay Packers rather than signing the premier pass-rusher to another type of record contract.
‘It’s very simple,’ Jones said. ‘Dak was indispensable in my mind … and Micah wasn’t.’
Parsons, who may have prevented the Cowboys from winning with a touchdown-saving sack of Prescott in overtime, had his own view of the business matters that juiced the plot for the primetime showcase. He still seemed a bit miffed that Jones – who at one point thought he had a ‘handshake deal’ on a contract extension for Parsons before the negotiations went sideways – never directly told him that he was traded.
‘The same way he called me into his office as a man, he couldn’t tell me as a man,’ said Parsons, who still hasn’t spoken to Jones since the trade. ‘So, to me, that emotion side was gone. It was more a respect factor at this point.’
Anybody for double overtime?
The Cowboys and Packers produced the NFL’s highest-scoring tie game since the 1970 merger in a marathon that included Dallas clawing back from an early 13-point deficit, seven lead changes, questionable game-management in crunch time from Green Bay coach Matt LaFleur and two crucial Brandon McManus field goals to force OT and end OT.
Yet clearly the Parsons saga provided the marquee value.
Prescott, by the way, was amazing. He passed for 339 yards and three touchdowns. And after his incredible, 34-yard connection to Jalen Tolbert in overtime – the receiver circled back to make a diving catch while managing to keep his feet inbounds by dragging his toes on the second foot – the Cowboys were set up at the 5-yard line with a chance for a go-ahead touchdown.
But on second-and-goal from the 4-yard line, Parsons made the defensive play of the night after Prescott scrambled from the pocket with a clear path to the end zone. He notched his only sack of the game by dropping Prescott from behind. Two plays later, the Cowboys settled for a 22-yard Brandon Aubrey field goal for a 40-37 lead that allowed the Packers the chance to win or tie with their ensuing OT possession.
It was a huge play at the perfect time, which is what the Packers were banking on when they traded two first-round picks and Pro Bowl defensive tackle Kenny Clark to Dallas on Aug. 28. The exchange also included Green Bay signing Parsons to a four-year extension that averages $46.5 million per year to make him the highest-paid non-quarterback in league history.
‘I’m here at the podium because I’m supposed to make that play,’ Parsons said during his postgame press conference. ‘Not because, ‘Oh my God, he made a play.’ I’m supposed to make that play. I’m supposed to help our defense. That’s the reason I was brought here.’
Still, Parsons didn’t quite get the last laugh on the Cowboys. He didn’t exactly extract in-your-face revenge against Jones. He didn’t even bag a victory that would have kept the Packers (2-1-1) in first place in the NFC North..
After all, ties are like kissing your sister – or in this case your former team.
‘I’m pissed off,’ Parsons said, reflecting on the outcome. ‘I’m very disappointed, just overall, how we performed.’
We get it. The Packers were heavily favored to steamroll the Cowboys (1-2-1), whose defense has major holes that only begin with the lack of a premier pass-rusher after dealing away Parsons in the stunning move a month earlier.
No doubt, the Dallas defense lived up to its reputation and was scorched again. Yet Parsons knew. His new defense, lit up by Prescott, George Pickens (8 catches, 134 yards, 2 TDs) and a few others, played like his old defense.
‘Giving up 40 points … that’s just unacceptable,’ he said.
It’s no wonder that Parsons, as he described it, pulled Packers quarterback Jordan Love to the side and thanked him ‘for having our back today.’
Love, like Prescott, passed for three touchdowns. He completed 31 of 43 passes for 337 yards and engineered the drives that ended with the McManus field goals that forced overtime and sealed the tie.
‘That’s why it’s so pivotal to play complementary football,’ Parsons said. ‘Because today, Jordan played like the player he (is) and we let him down.’
Micah Parsons tallies critical sack on former teammate Dak Prescott
Maybe even worse was that Jones – who won in another sense as a crowd of 93,353 showed up at Jerry World and well, dropped all kinds of cash – has fresh material to justify trading away a star player in his prime against a torrential rain of criticism.
See, in this situation, a tie for the Cowboys – playing without injured star receiver Cee Dee Lamb – seemed like a win. Remember, they were major underdogs against a team that is cast as a Super Bowl favorite with Parsons added to the mix.
And Jones, who hasn’t been shy in reiterating that the Cowboys never won a Super Bowl with Parsons, could take solace in the effort and bottom-line result. Parsons, who had three tackles and three quarterback hits to go with his sack, brought a decent amount of pressure but he didn’t dominate the game. Not when his unit gave up 40 points.
‘We knew he was there,’ Jones said. ‘And he made a difference. But that’s the way it goes. Whether we like it or not, I’ll take my side of it. And Green Bay can have their side of it.’
These lingering sentiments beg to be continued.
Who won the trade? Time will tell. Championship pursuits and the development of future draft picks are undoubtedly potential swing factors.
Yet the first matchup pitting Parsons against Jones could be symbolic for scoring the trade. At least for now, it looks like a draw.
Contact Jarrett Bell at jbell@usatoday.com or follow on social media: On X: @JarrettBell
On Bluesky: jarrettbell.bsky.social