Micah Parsons' cold spell could cost him NFL Defensive Player of the Year

After recording 12 sacks in 11 games, the Cowboys' outside linebacker has only one over the past three weeks. Meanwhile, Bosa registered four in his last three games, becoming the league's sack leader (15.5). Parsons has fallen all the way to fourth, trailing not only Bosa, but the Patriots' Matthew Judon and the Browns' Myles Garrett. 

Parsons' slide helped Bosa's odds rise. According to Oddschecker, Bosa is now the DPOY favorite. 

He's also the top choice of NFL executives. NFL Network Insider Tom Pelissero conducted an early awards survey featuring 26 league executives. Bosa received 17.5 votes while Parsons earned eight. 

"We were talking about Micah Parsons every week last year (winning DPOY). I feel more like that about Nick Bosa this year," said NBC Sports' Chris Simms recently. 

Parsons' recent step back is a bit puzzling because he was dominant early in the season.

His recent comments on Von Miller's Bleacher Report podcast suggest he feels like he's lining up as a defensive end too often rather than a linebacker, affecting his play.

"People don't understand that trench warfare. I'm not gonna lie when I was playing linebacker a whole lost last year, my body was a lot more fresh," Parsons told Miller. 

Per Pro Football Reference, Parsons is losing a war of attrition. In his last four games, he's played on 74 percent of snaps, lower than his 2021 average (84 percent). 

Dallas's defense has suffered, too. It allowed 63 points in its past two games. Coincidentally, San Francisco hopped over the Cowboys in Oddschecker's Super Bowl odds—second in the NFC behind the Eagles.

Perhaps Parsons and Bosa's switch is a microcosm for both teams.