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It would have been decidedly easy for the Cowboys to take the view of the Week 15 game they played against the Carolina Panthers on the road that many in the team’s fan base were hoping the team would take. The Dallas season is over, a wreck of injuries, terrible management decisions and general underachievement, so why not punch out and instead improve the 2025 NFL draft position?
There is much the Cowboys need, after all. Getting into position for the best possible pick sure sounds like a the best play for the team’s future.
The problem, though, is that edge rusher Micah Parsons was never going to let that happen. He said as much two weeks ago, and after Dallas flexed its way past Carolina in Week 15, with a 30-14 win, thanks in large part to a dominating defensive effort, Parsons reiterated his feelings.
Speaking with reporters after the game, Parsons was emphatic in his message to his teammates. There were, entering Sunday, four games to play, and Parsons expected a level of professionalism from all four outings.
That started with Carolina: “We’ve got to step up defensively, understand that we’re missing offensively, missing some guys on that side, but we just gotta keep stepping up. This was a good team. They gave the Eagles a fright, Chiefs, Broncos–this is a team that coming in here, we didn’t want to take lightly.”
But he wants to carry that approach forward.
“We are not gonna give up,” Parsons said. As long as I am part of this unit, as long as we believe in each other, and I can look to my left and know I can count on them. We fighting for each other, you know?”
Cowboys Stars Came Through
The Cowboys had a solid day offensively, as quarterback Cooper Rush overcame a fumble to throw three touchdowns without an interception, and fed nine passes for 116 yards to receiver CeeDee Lamb. Running back Rico Dowdle racked up 149 yards on 25 carries.
But the defense consistently set up the offense in favorable situations. They sacked Bryce Young six times and forced four turnovers–two fumbles and two interceptions. Parsons said those around the NFL can expect that kind of effort to continue.
“There’s a lot of guys fighting for new contracts, guys fighting to take care of their families. There’s still a lot of football to be played. You don’t want to put nothing bad on film or nothing like that. We fighting for each other at this point,” he said.
At 6-8, the Cowboys are not really fighting for the playoffs anymore. But they can, Parsons said, fight for each other. “The record is the record, the game is the game. You’re going to win some and we’re going to lose some. But it’s a special feeling when we can fight for each other,” he noted.
