The Green Bay Packers defeated the Arizona Cardinals 27-23 this past Sunday. The star of the show was Mr. Micah Parsons and he did not go unnoticed. Yesterday, Micah Parsons won the NFL Defensive Player of the Week award coming off a performance with 3 sacks, 4 tackles for a loss, 5 QB hits, and 11 QB pressures. The 3 sacks and 11 QB pressures are career highs for Parsons. His third and final sack of the game was the prime example as to why the Packers acquired him.
The Packers took the lead just after the 2-minute warning thanks to a Josh Jacobs rushing touchdown. Green Bay led Arizona by 4 and the result of the game came down to the Packers defense. Arizona was able to drive the ball to the Green Bay 27 yard line until Parsons sacked Cardinals QB Jacoby Brissett for a loss of 9 on first down, forcing the Cardinals to use their second timeout. The Cardinals were never able to recover. Brissett took two shots to the end zone on third and fourth down that both ended up out of bounds. Parsons sack was the big play that the Green Bay defense needed.
On top of that critical sack, Micah Parsons’ other two sacks happened on 3rd down when the Cardinals had the ball in the redzone. Arizona had to settle for two field goals. To recap, Parsons delivered three sacks, two on the “money downs” and one with the game on the line. This type of performance may not happen every week but Parsons made it quite clear that he is more than capable of delivering when the Packers need it most. That is exactly why Brian Gutekunst pulled the trigger to acquire Parsons.
Micah Parsons’ Performance So Far in 2025
It is no secret that the Packers gave up a lot to acquire Parsons. The team traded their next two first round picks and All-Pro and fan favorite Kenny Clark plus paid Parsons $188M over the next four years. With the Packers utilizing all of that capital, the return on investment is critical. Through Green Bay’s first six games, Micah Parsons has 5.5 sacks, 41 QB pressures, 13 QB hits, and 5 TFLs. Parsons 5.5 sacks are tied for the sixth most in NFL, alongside his teammate, Rashon Gary. PFF has given Parsons a 93.4 overall grade which ranks… drumroll please… 1st out of 113 defensive ends.
Parsons is producing at an elite rate but his third and final sack against the Cardinals is exactly what the team needs. There will be moments throughout the season where the Packers defense will need to make a stop. Parsons delivered a dragger with that sack and showed that when the team needed someone to make a play, he can be that guy. The Green Bay defense was unable to stop the Cowboys when they needed to so it is a big sigh of relief to see that unit get it done in a similar situation against the Cardinals.
Through the first six games of the season, Parsons’ Defensive Player of the Year campaign is fully underway. As of right now, according to DraftKings, Micah Parsons is the betting favorite (+180) to win the award. There is still a lot of football to be played but it is quite clear that the Packers major investment is paying off. Micah Parsons is proving Green Bay right that he was well worth the price.
