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Micah Parsons Fires Back At Cowboys Defense Criticism

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Anthony Goss | Last updated May 21, 2025 12:54 PM ET

FRISCO — The Dallas Cowboys are underway with OTA, shifting gears on the offseason with activities ramping up and counting down until the start of training camp later in the summer. At this point, there is a baseline understanding of what the roster will look like this time next season.

Dallas has worked through the league's major talent acquisition periods to collect pieces in free agency and the draft while adding another after the fact with the trade of George Pickens a few weeks ago.

That leaves them and the other 31 teams with a general framework of how their team will look heading into next season. The Cowboys should see some improvement on the offensive side, now having Pickens to complement CeeDee Lamb and Dak Prescott in the passing game.

Dallas' defenses has not acquired the same star power of a Pickens archetype, but has done the maintenance around the defense to bring in some contributors. However, some are not convinced by these efforts.

ESPN's Dan Orlovsky expressed concern about the Dallas defense Tuesday on "Get Up!" His focus centered on the team's lack of size on that side once again hurting their ability to stop the run.

Cowboys defensive star Micah Parsons fired back at Orlovsky, coming at the argument with an interesting angle.

"Not gonna lie mf not thinking bout that run when you have a healthy Dak, ceedee and gp my rookie year with coop we averaged 30 points a game with a fluid run game! We’ll be alright!"

Not gonna lie mf not thinking bout that run when you have a healthy Dak, ceedee and gp my rookie year with coop we averaged 30 points a game with a fluid run game! We’ll be alright! https://t.co/8ykJvUqn1j
— Micah Parsons (@MicahhParsons11) May 21, 2025

This take of course insinuates that the revitalization of an explosive Cowboys offense would counter any defensive concerns. And its certainly plausible.

If the Cowboys get back to torching defenses with a dynamic passing game and build up a physical presence on the ground, they are positioned to rekindle that offensive success with Schottenheimer at the helm.

However, even the most successful modern Cowboys' offenses have ultimately met that same demise when the well runs dry late in the season. So relying on the offense to alleviate all the pressure is no sound strategy.

That's not to say a player like Parsons with unwavering confidence in himself and the defense does not believe the Cowboys' defense will be able to come through this time around. But it remains the glaring yet fair criticism of the team.

With their reloaded unit, they get another chance to prove they have the means to hold the line against some of the best opposition in the league on their schedule. But for the Cowboys to continue playing through January next year, they will need both the offense and defense working in harmony.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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