“I’ll be back.” After seeing rookie 12th-overall pick Micah Parsons terrorize former sixth-overall pick Justin Herbert” on Sunday, admitting openly that he “really wanted” to get his shot at the Los Angeles Chargers quarterback, you’re left to wonder if Parsons dropped the infamous movie line a time or two during the Dallas Cowboys 20-17 victory at SoFi Stadium. Parsons is keeping that energy for Week 3, in the absence of All-Pro defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence, having bullied Herbert to the tune of a league-high eight total pressures in Week 2, including a team-high four quarterback hurries and a game-changing 18-yard sack in the waning minutes of regulation.
His next assignment is to fluster former second-second pick Jalen Hurts, a QB that isn’t as potentially lethal in the air as Herbert, but offers a much bigger challenge on the ground. Hurts has been known to make things happen with his legs — either extending plays for downfield heaves or carving off chunks himself in the rushing game — presenting a different type of challenge for Parsons on Monday night.
For his part, the Cowboys defensive rookie dynamo sees Hurts as next QB on his list to bury.
“I would say every quarterback that’s on the season is on the hit list,” Parsons told media on Wednesday. “I want all of them. Herbert was just the guy I had that week. But Hurts, he’s on the hit list now too. You got to look at it like you’re trying to be the Terminator out there.”
That would make Hurts this week’s version of John Connor, hoping to escape both Parsons and Skynet, i.e., the defensive scheme of Dan Quinn. To this point in the season, Hurts has shown he can take advantage of porous secondaries — throwing for 264 passing yards and three touchdowns to no interceptions in the regular season opener against the Atlanta Falcons — but struggle against those who present a problem on the defensive front and force him into becoming nothing more than a halfback who takes snaps.
Last week against the San Francisco 49ers, Hurts was sacked twice and hurried a combined 18 times (six by Arik Armstead alone), leading to only 12 completions in 23 attempts for 190 yards with no passing touchdowns. He’d get his production on the ground, but his 82 rushing yards and one rushing touchdown on 10 attempts was futile in the 17-11 loss on his own field. He must now travel to face Parsons and the Cowboys in the first home game of the season at AT&T Stadium, and his ability to take off and run isn’t lost on Parsons at all.
“He’s a great threat,” said Parsons of Hurts’ mobility. “You look at players who [are] changing the game of football like Lamar or Herbert, Hurts. Just the mobility of them getting outside the pocket to extend plays. You’ve got to learn how to contain them.
“You’ve got to do some stunts. You’ve got to box and cage them into that thing so they can’t go nowhere. It’s going to be a great challenge, great player. You look at him through Alabama to Oklahoma.
“He’s always been a threat with his legs and you’ve got to learn how to slow him down and spy him up a little bit. Get to him, get him off his point to where he won’t want to come out of the box.”
It’ll be an interesting matchup to watch on Monday, considering neither player is exactly considered slow in the open field. The edge goes to Parsons in that regard though, because while Hurts clocked in at 4.59 seconds in his pre-draft 40-yard dash, Parsons obliterates that number with a 4.39-second dash of his own. That is to say if Parsons needs to chase down a sprinting Hurts, he can.
And the added challenge for Hurts and the Eagles is to figure out where Parsons is on the field.
“I don’t think it really matters whether it’s linebacker or D-end,” Parsons added, noting the versatility the Cowboys look to continue using to keep opposing offenses off-balance. “I feel like I’m an every-down player. Each week I’ve got to prove that. This week, I might get even more snaps than I did last week.
“It’s all about proving and showing you can do it. Maybe last week they just wanted to see if I could really fill his shoes and how I would do. Proved them right. Going to play a lot more. You just never know where I’m going to play it at, though.”
Wherever his next snap puts him, he’s not interested in potentially paced going forward, i.e., having his snap counts measured. With an ankle injury to Dorance Armstrong likely sidelining him for a spell, it’s not something Parsons has to worry about, but he wants to be clear in that he never wants to worry about it, ever.
“Nah. I don’t need pace,” he said. “When you’ve got a wild bull, you don’t just let him pace, you let him run. I’m just out there running. If I’m tired, I’ll tell them I’m tired.
“I’m out there — I just want to play. I’m going to give 100 percent. If I can’t give 100 [percent], then I won’t be out there playing.”
It looks like Monday might be someone’s judgment day.
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