Packers coach Matt LaFleur said he plans to talk to game officials before the team’s game against the Cardinals on Sunday. The Packers are “frustrated” over the missed “egregious” and “blatant” holding penalties against Micah Parsons.
“That’s definitely going to be a conversation pregame,” LaFleur said, via Ryan Wood of USA Today.
The Bengals were called for no holding penalties on 46 dropbacks by Joe Flacco, including on a play when left tackle Orlando Brown Jr. tackled Parsons as he attempted to turn the corner. The Packers’ opponents have been called for holding five times this season.
It’s nothing new.
Parsons had an 11-game stretch last season with Dallas when he didn’t get a single holding call.
He sounded off on the officiating Thursday in a rant that he conceded “might get a fine” from the league office.
“Five years of not getting a call, you eventually stop worrying about it,” Parsons said, via video from Matt Schneidman of TheAthletic.com. “I think I just got to keep going. . . . That’s part of the challenges. Like, you’ve just got to keep going. That’s bothersome. That worries me. That’s part of being one of the best. That comes with some territory.
“There are parts that you hate, and the parts that the league lets go. You can tell how they call the games. They don’t call offsides for offense, but they call it on defense. They won’t call offensive pass interference, but they’ll call defensive pass interference. We know what they’re trying to do. They want to load the points up so fans can be happy. They’ll call defensive holding, but they won’t call offensive holding. Let’s just wake up. It’s just one of those things that we know what the higher-ups is trying to do. The ref will say, ‘I know that’s a hold.’ What? Like, you’re not going to call it? Like, come on. It’s one of those things that I’m over, and I’m just going to have to keep going and just push through it.”
Parsons went on to argue that the league’s concern about player safety is one-sided.
“We put so much emphasis on protecting the offense. Protect the defense,” Parsons said, via Cameron Ezeir of WFRV. “A guy could be trying to catch the ball and you make a defensive player so he doesn’t catch it, and it’s targeting. It’s a flag now. But a defensive end could be rushing and engaged with another player, and a guy could come blow his ribs out. We’re not considered defenseless. But like we said, it’s an offensive league. I think a lot of the rules are bullshit. A guy damn near hurt [defensive lineman Lukas] Van Ness last week. Like, what are we doing? If you’re going to say it’s about protecting the players, then protect all players. Don’t just protect one side of the ball. I don’t mind guys chipping from the outside, but like running backs want to come and sneak players while we’re engaged with offensive linemen. That’s complete bullshit. That’s not good football. That’s not safe football if that’s what they want to preach.”
Before the Eagles lost control of Thursday night’s game against the Giants, it appeared that the biggest talking point emerging from the Week 6 opener would be the ongoing challenges presented by the tush push.
The Eagles scored a touchdown after four straight uses of their trademark play, and with more evidence of linemen leaving early — and the officials not seeing it.
Difficulty of officiating has become the latest basis for getting rid of it, joining injury concerns and aesthetics as justifications for another effort in the 2026 offseason to get to 24 votes.
Packers linebacker Micah Parsons added his voice to the debate last night, tweeting: “It’s not football!” during the game.
That continues to be the prevailing sentiment in the league office. It’s not football.
But here’s another emerging reality. If Philly’s secret weapon, which no other team can stop or replicate, doesn’t result in another deep playoff run, some teams may lose their stomach for trying to take it away.
Many believe that the attack on the play arises from basic envy and resentment of the Eagles’ success. If they’re no longer a Super Bowl contender for reasons unrelated to their go-to play, who cares if they use it?
In a weird sort of way, those who pushed to get rid of the tush push last year will be implicitly admitting that the real reason was jealousy of the Eagles, if the 2025 season ends with nothing to be jealous about — and if the steam evaporates from the effort to wrangle two more votes than they managed to finagle in May.
It’s hard to say when the relationship between Cowboys owner Jerry Jones and edge rusher Micah Parsons was permanently severed.
Did it happen when Jones believed Parsons reneged on a handshake deal in April? Was it after Jones pulled the trigger on a trade of Parsons to the Packers?
In the end, the “when” doesn’t matter.
What’s done is done, and it’s clear that both sides have hurt feelings they won’t let go.
Parsons complained after Sunday’s game that Jones — who he didn’t call by name — “couldn’t tell me [about the trade] as a man.”
Jones responded on his weekly radio show on 105.3 The Fan on Tuesday.
“I really don’t want to respond to that at all,” Jones said, before responding, “but that phone call thing got stopped when he told me to take his number off my dial. It was, ‘Don’t call him anymore.’ So I quit those calls.”
Parsons spent four seasons in Dallas and made four Pro Bowls and 52.5 sacks before the Cowboys traded him to the Packers on Aug. 28. He has 2.5 sacks this season, including a sack of Dak Prescott in overtime Sunday.
Jones may have lost Parsons’ number, but he didn’t lose to Parsons’ team. The Cowboys and Packers tied 40-40, which Jones intimated was a win for his team against Parsons.
“When you don’t have a player anymore, he’s lining up directly against you, plus you don’t have him on your defensive side of the ball, now that’s a real good test,” Jones said on the radio, “and I’m glad that everybody got to see it where it goes and it left me feeling good about our trade.”
It was not the homecoming Micah Parsons envisioned when he returned to AT&T Stadium on Sunday night.
“Shit, I’m not even lying, I’m pissed off,” Parsons said after the 40-40 tie with the Cowboys. “I’m very disappointed overall with how we performed. I took Jordan [Love] to the side and told him, ‘Thank you for having our back today.’ . . . Today, Jordan played like the player he was, and we let him down.”
Parsons credited Dak Prescott for playing better than he and the Packers defense played, and he told the Cowboys quarterback just that afterward.
“Dak played a hell of a game, and I give him kudos for that,” Parsons said.
Parsons spent four seasons in Dallas before the Cowboys traded him to the Packers on Aug. 28. He exchanged pleasantries with some of his former teammates and traded jerseys with Cowboys cornerback Trevon Diggs after the game.
Parsons’ feelings about Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, though, haven’t changed.
“The emotions for me, being in Dallas, went away the moment they traded me,” Parsons said. “When [Packers General Manager Brian Gutekunst] said he was trading for me, he said, ‘Let me call [defensive tackle Kenny Clark] before [the news] breaks.
“The importance for the organization in that, like I didn’t get to talk to my owner. The person that drafted me. I found out through my agent. To me, that emotion side was pointless because the same way he called me into his office as a man, he couldn’t tell me as a man. That emotion side was gone; it was more of a respect factor at this point.”
Parsons, who received more cheers than boos when he came out for pregame warmups, finished with three tackles and three quarterback hits. His only sack came in overtime with the Cowboys facing a second-and-goal from the 4, and Prescott scrambled out of the pocket and toward the end zone. Parsons caught him from behind at the line of scrimmage.
An incompletion later, the Cowboys had to settle for the field goal.
“It’s just all about not letting your teammates down,” Prescott said. “Going 100 percent every play. I owe it to every person in the organization, every person in our locker room, to give my absolute best every single time. I’m here on this podium because I’m supposed to make that play. I’m supposed to help our defense. That’s why I was brought here. Making plays is what I’m supposed to do. Taking over games is what I’m supposed to do. I don’t think I should be rewarded for that play.”
In the third quarter, Parsons appeared to hit his back and his head on the turf on a Javonte Williams run. He went into the sideline medical tent and was there when Prescott threw his second touchdown pass.
Parsons said he was required to be checked for a concussion.
“I came out for a play,” Parsons said. “The next thing I know they’re taking me to the tent. I thought it was very weird. When I came up, I grabbed my back. That was just so weird. I don’t know what was going on. . . . That was real strange.”
Everything about Sunday night was strange, with no winners after 70 minutes of football.
It remains to be seen who wins the trade.
Neither Jerry Jones nor Micah Parsons will find Sunday Night Football’s ending satisfying, as 70 minutes of entertaining football ended with a 40-40 tie.
The Packers now are 2-1-1, and the Cowboys are 1-2-1
Packers kicker Brandon McManus, who kicked a 53-yard field goal on the final play of regulation to send the game into overtime, hit a 34-yarder for the tie after Green Bay mismanaged the clock. They left one second after Jordan Love’s incompletion into the end zone with the Packers on the Dallas 16.
Neither team celebrated after a hard-fought tie.
Micah Parsons’ return to AT&T Stadium didn’t live up to the hype, but he did have a sack of Dak Prescott in overtime with the Cowboys on the 4-yard line. He had three tackles and three quarterback hits.
The Packers had won all six previous appearances in the Cowboys’ home stadium, including Super Bowl XLV. Like last week’s loss to the Browns, the Packers will leave feeling like they gave one away, having outgained the Cowboys 489 to 436.
The teams traded the lead six times in the second half in an entertaining 30 minutes of football, ending regulation tied.
The Packers won the overtime toss and elected to kick off.
On their first overtime possession, the Cowboys got a 22-yard pass from Prescott to George Pickens on third-and-5 and, two plays later, Prescott was forced out of the pocket and chunked a deep ball toward Jalen Tolbert. Tolbert managed to keep both feet in bounds at the 5-yard line.
The Cowboys, though, couldn’t get into the end zone as Parsons made his only big play of the night. He sacked Prescott for no gain on second down. Prescott threw incomplete on third, and the Cowboys settled for a 22-yard field goal by Brandon Aubrey.
The Packers faced a fourth-and-6 at their own 24, but Jordan Love hit Matthew Golden for a 14-yard pickup. They got to the Dallas 12 with 32 seconds left, but got only a completion for minus-1 yard and an incompletion before the tying field goal.
The fourth quarter was something to see as the teams traded scores three times in the final 1:45.
First, Packers receiver Romeo Doubs scored his third touchdown with 1:45 remaining, catching a 15-yard touchdown pass on third-and-10. It capped a 10-play, 80-yard drive.
Then, George Pickens scored his second touchdown of the night on a 28-yard reception from Prescott with 43 seconds left. Pickens, who is the Cowboys’ top wideout as long as CeeDee Lamb is sidelined with an ankle injury, had eight catches for 134 yards. His first touchdown covered 15 yards.
McManus’ kick then sent it to overtime.
The Cowboys looked like they were on their way to another blowout loss, down 13-0 in the second quarter with the Packers lining up for a PAT. McManus’ extra-point attempt was blocked by Juanyeh Thomas, and Markquese Bell returned it for a defensive 2-point conversion.
The Cowboys then scored two touchdowns in the final 41 seconds of the first half to take a 16-13 lead into the locker room at halftime. Dallas went 95 yards in 11 plays before the break, with Pickens catching a 28-yard pass to the Green Bay 1. Prescott scored on a 2-yard run with 41 seconds to go.
The Packers attempted to add onto their 13-9 lead, but Love was sacked by James Houston, who stripped the ball and recovered it himself at the Green Bay 15. One play later, with 9 seconds left in the half, Prescott hit Pickens for a touchdown.
Prescott was 31-of-40 for 319 yards and three touchdowns, and Love was 31-of-43 for 337 yards and three touchdowns.
The Packers and Cowboys are going back and forth in the third quarter.
After the Packers scored a touchdown to regain the lead, the Cowboys answered with a 12-play, 80-yard touchdown drive. The Cowboys lead 23-20 at the end of the third quarter.
Jake Ferguson scored on an 8-yard touchdown from Dak Prescott.
Packers edge rusher Micah Parsons was in the sideline medical tent getting looked at when Ferguson scored. Parsons appeared to aggravate his back and hit his head on the turf on a Javonte Williams run.
Parsons has two tackles and a quarterback hit.
Prescott is 19-of-24 for 173 yards and two touchdowns.
Jerry Jones may own AT&T Stadium, but the Packers have laid claim to the premises.
On Sunday night, the Packers will try to run their all-time record at the stadium in Arlington to 7-0.
Their first Green Bay game in the building was played not against the Cowboys, but against the Steelers in Super Bowl XLV. The Packers won, 31-25 win. They have since beaten the Cowboys there in 2013 (37-36), the 2016 playoffs (34-31), 2017 (35-31), 2019 (34-24), and the 2023 playoffs (48-32).
Tonight’s game will the first prime-time meeting between Dallas and Green Bay since 2010, when a 45-7 blowout loss by the Cowboys sparked the firing of Wade Phillips and the promotion of Jason Garrett.
The Packers are favored by 6.5 points in the contest that will feature, if you haven’t heard, the return of Micah Parsons to Dallas — one month to the day after he was traded.
The Cowboys haven’t won a Super Bowl since 1995, but apparently, the past four seasons were the fault of Micah Parsons.
“Let’s make no mistake about it,” Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said on 105.3 The Fan on Friday, via Tommy Yarrish of the team website. “Micah is special, and we all know he is, and he can be disruptive. We have huge amounts of experience with the anecdotes that we’ve seen used on us for the last four years. While he does make great plays, there is also a way to approach playing against Micah, as we know, because we didn’t exactly win the Super Bowl during those years.”
On Netflix’s “America’s Team” series, Jones is shown in the locker room talking to Parsons after the 2023 playoff loss to the Packers.
“It’s a disappointment, but it wasn’t because of you,” Jones tells Parsons, who responds, saying, “All I want to do is win.”
Parsons had two tackles and a quarterback hit, and Jordan Love was not sacked while throwing for 272 yards in Dallas’ 48-32 loss.
Jones continued to take shots at Parsons’ run defense on his Friday radio show. Parsons’ run defense was the explanation Jones gave immediately following the trade of Parsons to the Packers on Aug. 28.
“When I look at playing him, I think of trying to have him as an advantage when we were playing other teams over the last four years,” Jones said. “And some plays it looks beautiful, but on other plays, especially running plays, you can wish you would’ve had a different formation.”
The Cowboys will not have two starting offensive linemen with center Cooper Beebe and right guard Tyler Booker sidelined, with injuries. But it sounds like the Cowboys will run right at Parsons with Javonte Williams and Miles Sanders.
“You can’t take Micah out of the game. That’s ridiculous,” Jones said when asked if he wants the Cowboys staff to devise a plan centered around taking Parsons out of the equation. “Not a ridiculous statement. I’m just saying that [the] thought if you had it that you were taking him out of the game, but you can play him.
“And trust me, he was played by teams against us over the last four years. We saw it all the time. Now, whether or not we can accomplish that, that remains to be seen. Being trite, we lost games with Micah. And that’s a trite statement, but we did.”
Parsons had 52.5 sacks in his four seasons in Dallas. The Cowboys have four sacks this season, including none against Caleb Williams on Sunday. It was the first time in Williams’ NFL career that he wasn’t sacked.
No tribute, no problem. After being traded by Jerry Jones and the Cowboys just before Week 1, Micah Parsons returns to Dallas for the first time as a member of the Green Bay Packers on Sunday Night Football in Week 4 on NBC and Peacock. Once considered a foundational piece of the Cowboys’ defense, the defensive game wrecker has become just that with the Packers, starting his time in Green Bay with an exclamation point.
Nostalgia won’t be part of the Cowboys’ plans for Sunday night, though, with the organization already confirming a Parsons tribute video isn’t in the cards, a decision Jerry Jones defended. As the All-Pro prepares to disrupt Dak Prescott and the Cowboys’ offense, let’s revisit the blockbuster trade and key storylines for his return ahead of Packers vs. Cowboys.
Why did the Dallas Cowboys trade Micah Parsons to the Green Bay Packers?
The decision to trade Micah Parsons stemmed from a breakdown in long-term contract negotiations. Parsons, entering the final year of his rookie deal, sought an extension that would have made him one of the highest-paid defensive players in NFL history. Dallas declined to meet those terms, citing concerns over future leverage and financial flexibility.
Cowboys Owner and General Manager, Jerry Jones, has since said he still admires Parsons but felt the team couldn’t commit to that level of a guarantee. The Packers, however, didn’t hesitate. With two first-round picks and defensive tackle Kenny Clark involved as the first steps, Green Bay backed the trade with a monstrous four-year, $188 million deal, with $136 million guaranteed.
RELATED: Jerry Jones: Cowboys maximized Micah Parsons’ trade value by waiting
Micah Parsons Cowboys-Packers trade details
The trade was completed on August 28, 2025, with the Cowboys receiving two first-round draft picks (2026, 2027) and veteran defensive tackle Kenny Clark. Shortly after the trade, Parsons signed a four-year, $188 million contract extension with Green Bay, including $136 million guaranteed and $120 million guaranteed at signing. This deal made him the highest-paid non-quarterback in NFL history at the time of the agreement.
What did Jerry Jones say about Micah Parsons?
Jerry Jones’ mood and comments about Parsons shifted multiple times throughout the offseason up until now. In early August, Parsons made a trade request, while Jones insisted that he would follow through on such a demand, citing Parsons’ request as simply a negotiation tactic.
According to Jones, over the next few weeks, he and Parsons reached a record-breaking deal. However, it was struck down by Parsons’ agent, David Mulugheta.
“I’d already negotiated,” Jones said on The Michael Irvin Podcast. “I’d already moved off my mark on several areas. And so the issue is frankly that we already had the negotiation in my mind, and now the agent is trying to stick his nose in it.”
RELATED: Micah Parsons: Cowboys might have hard feelings, but I don’t
About a week later, on August 28, Parsons was officially traded to Green Bay. Jones said that it was not personal. Now, ahead of Parsons’ return to Arlington on Sunday Night Football, Jones said on 105.3 The Fan, “I think the world of Micah as an individual and of course know him well. I might say I wish him well — except it’s obvious I don’t this weekend, in terms of Green Bay winning the ball game.”
Will the Cowboys honor Micah Parsons this weekend in his return to Dallas?
The Cowboys announced they will not be honoring Micah Parsons ahead of or during their Sunday Night Football matchup against the Packers.
RELATED: Cowboys won’t honor Micah Parsons in his return Sunday
Micah Parsons’ career stats, awards with Cowboys
Parsons played in 33 games as a Cowboy, recording 256 total tackles, 52.5 sacks, and nine forced fumbles in that span. As a rookie in 2021, Parsons recorded 13 sacks, breaking DeMarcus Ware’s Cowboys rookie sack record, earning AP Defensive Rookie of the Year honors in the process. He also became the second player ever to total at least 12 sacks in each of his first four seasons.
Packers, Cowboys odds to win Super Bowl LX
As of Sept. 26, 2025, Green Bay has the third-best odds (+750) to win Super Bowl LX, while Dallas is near the bottom of the board at +16000.
Odds provided by DraftKings Sportsbook.
Who won the Micah Parsons trade?
Though it may still be early, Parsons’ strong start could already be giving Dallas fans headaches. Through three games, he’s recorded six quarterback hurries, five total tackles, and two sacks. He has transformed Green Bay’s defensive intensity and taken pressure off others at the line of scrimmage. The Packers have allowed just 44 points through three weeks, the lowest mark in the NFL.
RELATED: Dak Prescott: It’s not Dak vs. Micah, it’s Cowboys vs. Packers
For Dallas, Kenny Clark has recorded 10 total tackles and one sack. He left last week’s game against Chicago briefly with an ankle injury, but returned. The Cowboys have already allowed 30 or more points in two of their first three games – equaling the number of times they gave up that many all of last season without Micah Parsons. Dallas has allowed 397.7 yards per game to opposing offenses this season, third-highest in the league.
It may be too early to tell who won the trade. Green Bay received a generational pass rusher, while Dallas earned financial flexibility and two future draft picks. Much will be determined by how Jerry Jones utilizes his added picks along with his increased financial capital. It would be hard to argue against the Packers as the ultimate winner should they win a Super Bowl with Parsons leading their defense.
How to watch Cowboys vs Packers on Peacock and NBC
- When: Sunday, September 28
- Where: AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas
- Time: Live coverage begins at 7:00 PM ET with Football Night in America
- TV Channel: NBC
- Live Stream: Peacock
Packers defensive end Micah Parsons said this week that it will be “painful” for him to sack former teammate Dak Prescott in his return to Dallas and Prescott joked that he hopes “it’s not for me” while speaking to reporters on Thursday.
Prescott added that he hopes it doesn’t happen at all on Sunday night and added that the Cowboys will have “five guys up front, plus tight ends and running backs that [Parsons has] to get through” in order to make a sack. The discussion of the other people that will be on the field extended throughout Prescott’s comments as the quarterback noted that football games are not matchups between individual players.
“It’s the business of it,” Prescott said, via Calvin Watkins of the Dallas Morning News. “At the end of the day, it’s not Dak vs. Micah. . . . Those are never the headlines and never can be. This is Dallas Cowboys vs. the Green Bay Packers and we’ve got to go get a win.”
Prescott said he’s excited for the chance to compete against a former teammate and expects “fun banter back and forth” throughout the game. He does not expect the game to bring “closure” to discussion of the Cowboys’ decision to trade Parsons, however.
That’s likely correct as the Cowboys will have to use the draft picks they acquired before anyone puts the trade to bed, but finding a way to win would still make things look better from the Dallas side.
