When the Cowboys last encountered the Commanders, they were nearing the end of the 2022 regular season. The Cowboys had a chance to win the NFC East and ensure home-field advantage in the future. Washington, on the other hand, was playing for pride, and pride triumphed as Dallas was defeated. Micah Parsons was not thrilled to be reminded.
On Tuesday, Parsons was asked if the loss provides “added motivation to get some payback,” and he scoffed.
“That’s last year’s stuff,” Parsons said to reporters. “We went through it all last year.” This is a fantastic crew.”
If the Cowboys took the Commanders too lightly in Week 18, it was costly. The loss meant the Cowboys had to go on the road for their playoff opener against the Buccaneers, then on the road again in San Francisco for their divisional-round loss.
For the third straight week, the Cowboys will be playing one of the league’s bottom feeders and will need to stay on point to keep their string of two straight wins going. They have beaten the Giants and Panthers by a combined score of 82-27 in Weeks 10 and 11, and should be in line for a blowout win in Week 12.
Just don’t tell Micah Parsons that.
Micah Parsons on Commanders: ‘On a Positive Track’
Indeed, despite four losses in five games, including a rough one to the lowly Giants and rookie quarterback Tommy DeVito in Week 11, Micah Parsons is very much preaching respect for the Cowboys’ Thanksgiving opponent this week. He does not think that the Cowboys need to reach back to 2022 to find a reason to take this team seriously.
The Cowboys, at 7-3, are still running two games behind the Eagles in the race for the NFC East. Philadelphia is 9-1 after they pulled off an ugly win against the Chiefs on Monday night. But the Commanders took the Eagles to overtime in Week 4.
“You turn on the tape and they’ve been close to beating the Eagles — fell short by just a little bit, it could’ve went either way,” he said. “The Giants game, I don’t really count that because of the amount of turnovers between running backs and quarterbacks. The Seahawks game went down to the wire. This is a team that can be a positive in any given way.
“This is a team that could and should be on a positive track with the amount of talent they have. It’s a team we need to take very, very seriously and that should be enough motivation as it is.”
Cowboys Must Beware Passing Game
One of the keys for the Cowboys will be to remain on their toes against Washington’s pass-happy offense. The Commanders lead the NFL in passing attempts (442) and are 10th in yards (2,695) through the air. The Cowboys are fifth in the league, allowing just 1,571 yards passing this season.
“Execution,” Micah Parsons explained about the team’s defense. “We’re executing at a really high level. Speaking of talent that we went against or about to go against this week and further on into the season, it’s execution, the game plan, the things that Dan (Quinn, the defensive coordinator) is doing to mix things up.
“And it goes to show how good our corners are doing this year. Just shows we’re playing really lights-out football this year.”
Sean Deveney is a veteran sports reporter covering the NBA and NFL for Heavy.com. He has written for Heavy since 2019 and has more than two decades of experience covering the NBA, including 17 years as the lead NBA reporter for the Sporting News. Deveney is the author of 7 nonfiction books, including “Fun City,” “Before Wrigley became Wrigley,” and “Facing Michael Jordan.” More about Sean Deveney
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