Micah Parsons and Von Miller were heated over a controversial chip block on the Cowboys’ star

The Cowboys got blasted in a 19-3 loss to Buccaneers on Sunday Night Football to start the season. And already, without the injured Dak Prescott, they might be without viable options or a paddle for the rest of the year.

But that’s not what reigning Defensive Rookie of the Year and all-world linebacker/pass rushers Micah Parsons was focusing on in the aftermath last night. When Tampa Bay’s Tom Brady and Julio Jones connected on a 48-yard bomb that set up a field goal near the end of the first half, Parsons was leveled by a chip block from Leonard Fournette:

In response after the game, the Dallas talisman was not happy in the least about the hard hit he took before Brady and Jones gashed the Cowboys:

Now go watch the tape! And see what happened when it was me and him one-on-one! You hit someone who’s not looking you straight . Stop hyping this weak , it’s football!

Hoo boy. If I didn’t know any better, that almost reads like sour grapes for a defensive player unhappy he lost a rep in a big spot.

The Bills’ Von Miller, well-known for successfully navigating a labyrinth of elaborate blocking schemes throughout his future Hall of Fame career, took it a step further when discussing the block on Parsons. Miller thinks chip blocks like this shouldn’t even be a part of pro football:

Hmm, I don’t know about that argument, Von!

I’d buy the sentiment more if Miller didn’t use “marquee pass rushers” in his case. Does that mean non-marquee pass rushers shouldn’t be protected, of which there are far more? The logic seems faulty. Never mind that Fournette’s block was completely fine, to me, and just happened to catch Parsons when he was leaving his feet in a pass rush.

Fournette’s move looks like a clean shoulder to the body of a pass rusher — essentially, what every running back is coached to do on a chip, if they can manage. From my vantage point, Miller, like Parsons, seems to be more upset that they can be chipped at all. On some level, I can sympathize. When you’re a Von Miller or Micah Parsons, dealing with a wall of blockers fixated on you every play is probably frustrating. It makes it challenging to do your job!

But on a grander football level, their gripes hold little weight with me. As long as backs and tight ends — whoever is chipping — aren’t hitting players in the head, blocks like this, however they can be achieved, are an essential part of offensive football. Quarterbacks would never have time to throw if guys like Miller and Parsons were allowed to run around with reckless abandon on the field.

Fournette echoed similar thoughts when he saw his block going viral:

The crux of the matter here is: If you’re a superstar defender capable of wrecking a game plan, keep your head on a swivel, and move on.