All defeats count for one in the loss column, but the perception of a stumble can vary from team to team and loss to loss.
When the Dallas Cowboys got crushed by the heavyweight San Francisco 49ers, Dak Prescott and Co. took significant heat. Cowboys edge rusher Micah Parsons pleaded the same energy be brought after the undefeated Eagles and 49ers fell as favorites to the Jets and Browns, respectively.
"I just don't condone the bashing of Dak Prescott and the Dallas Cowboys, and (not) have the same energy for the Eagles," Parsons said during the latest episode of the On The Edge with Micah Parsons podcast. "The Eagles were healthy. They had Jalen Hurts. They had their receiving corps. They had their explosive weapons. They didn't have Lane Johnson. I will admit they didn't have Lane Johnson. But does that make that much of a difference? Because I see my quarterback, you know, maybe not have the red-zone success, but move the ball way better than the Eagles did Sunday night.
"We want the same energy for everybody. Because there's a whole bunch of bashing when it's Dak Prescott, but not the same when it's the Eagles."
The Cowboys walloped the Jets, 30-10, in Week 2 by forcing four turnovers and bamboozling Zach Wilson into three interceptions. Sunday, it was the Jets who beat Philly by forcing four turnovers, including three Hurts interceptions.
"They said we didn't have a significant win [against the Jets]," Parsons said. "They said we beat a nameless -- Zach Wilson -- or a team without Aaron Rodgers, all these things. One thing that the Jets did have [against us] was Sauce Gardner, D.J. Reed. They were also missing a few other pieces, and they beat the Eagles. But apparently, the Jets aren't a significant win. They aren't a good team without Aaron Rodgers, which I said wasn't true. I'm glad that Zach Wilson is proving people wrong. He just beat a great Eagles team."
The rival Eagles weren't the only team Parsons went after. The edge rusher said the Browns aren't getting enough credit for knocking off a Niners team that beat his Cowboys, 42-10, the previous week.
"I got time today, OK. A lot of people said the Browns' defense was overhyped. Everyone said Micah don't know ball," the linebacker said. "I said the Browns are the real deal, if they can put it together, they can be a hard team to beat. And now I can say it, my guy, who we miss very much, Amari Cooper balled the hell out. He could have been the dog of the week. What he did to help lead this team over the 49ers was amazing. That catch was spectacular."
Parsons took issue that the 49ers' loss is being excused by some because Christian McCaffrey and Deebo Samuel were injured, which ignores that the Browns were also missing Deshaun Watson and a host of other key players on offense.
"I heard a quote, (Emmanuel) Acho said this, which pissed me off. He said, 'I'm not worried about the 49ers, they were missing Christian McCaffrey. They were missing Deebo Samuel,' " Parsons said. "This is what pissed me off about that, OK. They started that game. The Browns were missing Deshaun Watson. They were missing Nick Chubb. They were missing Jack Conklin. They were missing them key factors before the game even started. So why is it that we are just scrubs and we're nobodies that don't deserve to be on the field, and we're just all talk, but there's 100 excuses for these other teams. If y'all just going to hate Cowboys nation, just say y'all hate Cowboys nation. But don't sit here and throw shade on us. Keep the same energy for everybody. That's all it is."
Every team deals with injuries. How a club battles through moments without key players tends to define how its season unfolds. It's also true that in a league where the talent level is distributed, circumstances can arise for a team to win by 32 one week and lose by two points the next -- or, conversely, lose by 32 then win by three.
Yes, the Cowboys are covered differently than any NFL team. Jerry Jones likes that his club spurs such feelings and attention. Parsons knows this is part of the deal of playing with a star on his helmet. Every Dallas player knows it. But that doesn't mean the edge rusher didn't have some good points about how things went down this weekend. New York and Cleveland deserve their flowers for knocking off undefeated teams.
