Washington Commanders head coach Dan Quinn Perry Knotts/GettyImages

Commanders' Dan Quinn faces the return of his toughest test in Week 2

Originally posted on Riggo's Rag | By Hirdesh Matta | Last updated Sep 11, 2025 7:00 AM ET

Although the Washington Commanders escaped the prospect of facing Micah Parsons for two meetings per year after his unexpected trade, the reprieve is short-lived. They’ll face him and his new team, the Green Bay Packers, on Thursday Night Football in Week 2.

Head coach Dan Quinn is extremely familiar with Parsons, having been his defensive coordinator during their time together in Dallas. But that familiarity didn't really benefit the Commanders in their two meetings versus the All-Pro edge rusher last season.

In his two games against the Commanders, Parsons had 12 tackles, four tackles for loss, 4.5 sacks, and six quarterback hits. To put that in perspective, almost 10 percent of the times that Jayden Daniels was sacked last season came at the hands of the Penn State product.

Commanders must restrict Micah Parsons to stand any chance of success in Week 2

Despite having just 10 days from the time he was traded to Green Bay to the Packers' opening game against the Detroit Lions, Parsons had no problem making his presence felt on the field.

IMPACT?

On the 29 snaps Parsons played, the Packers sacked Jared Goff 3 times and permitted 2.4 yards/play (longest Lions gain was 16 yards).@PaulHembo
— Dan Orlovsky (@danorlovsky7) September 8, 2025

Though Parsons finished with just one sack, his constant double-teams opened lanes for others, fueling nine quarterback hits and four sacks for Green Bay. That played a leading role in their notable triumph.

The defensive end also finished with a 21 percent pass rush win rate against Penei Sewell, one of the best offensive tackles in the league.

That doesn't bode well for rookie Josh Conerly Jr., who will be up for a major challenge. The Commanders will need to leverage John Bates and others to provide support against Parsons, which will force Daniels to get the ball out quickly.

Quinn acknowledged the delicate balance of defending someone like Parsons aggressively, but not at the expense of letting other defenders make plays.

You wanna have enough balance in how you do things to make sure that one player doesn't get too much attention, but also enough that they don't wreck the game.Dan Quinn via Commanders.com

The Lions struggled with that, finishing with just 246 total yards. This came after averaging 415.7 yards per game last season, including a 521-yard performance in the playoff loss to Washington.

For Washington, who was 12-2 last year when rushing for over 100 yards, the key will be to get the ground game going to free up lanes for Daniels to make plays. The Packers will provide a challenge, having held the Lions to only 46 rushing yards and an anemic 2.1 yards per carry in Week 1.

Thursday Night Football will offer a reunion for Quinn, facing off against a former player in Parsons and a mentee in Packers head coach Matt LaFleur. And with most reunions, bragging rights will be on the line.

Can Washington overcome history and win on the road against the Packers for the first time since 1988? If so, limiting Parsons will be objective No. 1.

This article first appeared on Riggo's Rag and was syndicated with permission.

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