Cowboys star Micah Parsons takes aim at 49ers and Trent Williams
SANTA CLARA — Their records aren’t that much different and it’s fairly accepted that there isn’t much of a disparity in terms of talent level between the 49ers and the Dallas Cowboys.
Which hasn’t prevented Dallas edge rusher Micah Parsons from staking a claim for being the underappreciated underdog.
“We hear it: No way the Cowboys are going to win, no way,” Parsons told reporters Thursday in Frisco, Texas. “I think you should feed into it. You should love that stuff. When no one believes in you, that’s the best feeling . . . I really like being the underdog.”
Parsons, in his second year out of Penn State, is one of many good players on the Dallas defense, but he’s the most notorious game-wrecker. He’s the Cowboys’ version of Nick Bosa, stationed mostly as an edge player this season after a rookie season when he played more as an off-ball linebacker.
How the 49ers (14-4) deal with Parsons and a Dallas (13-5) defense adept at pressuring quarterbacks will go a long way toward determining a winner Sunday at 3:30 p.m. in an NFC divisional playoff game at Levi’s Stadium.
Some, but not all of that responsibility will fall to Pro Bowl tackle Trent Williams. Williams, at 6-foot-5, 318 pounds, as three inches in height and more than 70 pounds of a weight advantage against the 6-foot-2, 245 pound Parsons.
Williams, 35, was as complimentary and measured as Parsons was blustery and confident.
“His home position is technically over me on the left side, but he’s versatile,” Williams said. “He can go inside, he can be a spinner off the ball, he can rush from the right side side as well.”
That means not only Williams, but right tackle Mike McGlinchey could get duty protecting Brock Purdy against one of the NFL’s top young pass rushers.
Dallas ranked fifth in the NFL with quarterback pressures with 162, and led the league with pressure on 25.6 percent of their defensive snaps. The Cowboys also have DeMarcus Lawrence coming from the edge, but it was Parsons who led Dallas with 41 pressures, 27 quarterback hits and 13 1/2 sacks.
While Bosa is the odds-on favorite to be the NFL’s Defensive Player of the Year, Parsons was running with him for much of the season. Bosa finished with 18 1/2 sacks, 61 pressures. Parsons hit a dry spell during the season, but he appeared to be his old self in a 31-14 wild card around win over Tampa Bay.
Now he’s looking forward to going head-to-head with Williams.
“I think he’s one of the better tackles but that’s what I look for: best on best,” Parsons said. “So I want Trent’s best game ever and he’s going to get my best game ever and just the passion in the sport. That’s what you want.”
Chris Foerster, the 49ers line coach and run-game coordinator, said Parsons is able to make up ground quicker than other edge rushers.
“You think you have them and all of a sudden they’re gone,” Foerster said. “What he’s really good at too is when he gets into your body, he’s really good at getting off a block.”
For comparisons sake, Williams went straight to the top in terms of edge rushers and likened Parsons to Von Miller, a two-time Super Bowl champion with Denver and the Rams who signed with Buffalo and is out with a torn ACL.
“You don’t face a lot of guys that run a 4.4 (40-yard dash) so that’s pretty different,” Williams said. “He has some of the same physical traits as Von, obviously not as big yet, but he’ll get some grown man weight on him. Just a really gifted athlete.”
Parsons, 23, was the NFL’s Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2021 while playing more as an off-ball linebacker than an edge rusher. His impact was immediate despite passing on his last year of college because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
When it was suggested to Parsons they haven’t faced a team with as much talent a the 49ers, he immediately returned serve.
“I don’t think they’ve faced anything like us, either,” Parsons said.
Parsons has no business of falling into the trap of allowing the 49ers to control the tempo an dictate the pace.
“I don’t want to go out there and try and outcompete the 49ers,” Parsons said. “They’re going to beat my ass if I play their game. I’m going to play my game. I’m going to bring my strengths and what I bring to the table. They’re going to bring their strengths. Let’s just battle it out.”
Parsons feels good about coming out on top.
“The bigger the stage, the bigger the player,” Parsons said. “Right?”