The Green Bay Packers are taking precautions to protect Micah Parsons from himself — and the All-Pro edge rusher is not too fond of that approach.
Dealing with a lingering back issue, Parsons has been on a pitch count through the first two games with Green Bay. He has played 77 of 136 defensive snaps (56.6%), but that hasn’t hindered his effectiveness.
Parsons has tallied 10 total pressures and is tied for the team lead with two sacks as the Packers‘ highest-graded pass rusher by Pro Football Focus (PFF).
However, Parsons isn’t content and wants to be off the leash.
“Honestly, it’s pissing me off,” Parsons said after Green Bay’s 27-18 win over the Washington Commanders on “Thursday Night Football.” “Can’t hold a dog back forever.”
Packers Defense Realizes Early Evolution With Parsons
It’s just two games into the 2025 season, but it’s also been two of the Packers defense’s most difficult tests.
Facing two of the top four offenses from the 2024 season, Green Bay held the Detroit Lions and Commanders in check, allowing just 15.5 points per game. Detroit and Washington averaged 33.1 and 28.5 points per game last season, respectively.
From an advanced analytics perspective, it looks even better.
CBS Sports’ Mike Renner posted on X that Green Bay has allowed a -.091 expected points added per play (EPA/play) so far this season — which would have ranked second in the NFL last season.
They’ve allowed -.091 EPA/play (a figure that would have ranked 2nd in the NFL over last season)
This is early evidence of the force multiplier that is Parsons when he’s on the field, as every individual player on the Packers defense seems to be rising to a higher level of play.
Micah Parsons Doesn’t Shy Away From Super Bowl, No. 1 Defense Ambitions
After the Commanders game, Parsons was not coy about the potential the Packers have this season.
“What I’ve been telling everyone: Defense wins championships,” Parsons said after the game. “(Jordan) Love, you know, you give us 20 points, we should be able to win that game. It’s all about getting stops and getting the ball back to the offense.
“As y’all have seen against Baltimore and Buffalo, you can have a quarterback damn near have a perfect game and still lose because guess what, the defense just gave up, what, 40 points? So, defense wins championships. I think the fans like points and they like to see the big plays, but when you play great defense, it’s just so beautiful to see.”
As an ultra-competitor, Parsons believes the defense will be the difference-maker come the postseason.
“I don’t think we make this type of move if we didn’t believe we could do that,” Parsons said of his trade to Green Bay. “Shoutout to the organization for believing in me and thinking I could come in and make an impact. I just want to keep holding up this standard and level that they expected me to come in and play with.
Best defense in the NFL, [that title] is earned,” Parsons added. “It’s early to say. The best defenses do it consistently. Consistency equals greatness. We had a great start, so I’m just happy about that. We can be a great defense. It’s just up to us to continue to push and strive for that.”
Micah Parsons Has Blunt Message on Packers Holding Him Back