The Dallas Cowboys were in a tailspin entering Week 12 with a 3-7 record, the worst 10-game start to a season since 2020, and in the midst of a five-game losing streak, their longest since the 2015 season.
Many football fans, who root for the Cowboys and other teams, would probably agree that their free fall was actually an ideal occurrence for a franchise that could use an infusion of talent following injuries to quarterback Dak Prescott (hamstring), edge rusher DeMarcus Lawrence (foot), right guard Zack Martin (ankle/shoulder), cornerback Trevon Diggs (groin/knee) and cornerback DaRon Bland (foot), just to name a few. Even though that sentiment prevails around the football world, it isn’t held in the Cowboys locker room even with coach Mike McCarthy and his staff playing out the final season of their current coaching contract. That was evident in Dallas’ shocking and chaotic 34-26 road win over Dan Quinn and the Washington Commanders on Sunday afternoon in Week 12.
“I’m not done yet. I don’t plan on tanking,” three-time All-Pro edge rusher Micah Parsons said, via The Athletic, postgame on Sunday. “If the higher-ups are looking for a draft pick, I hope that’s ruined, because we got a lot of football left to play. As long as I’m a part of this team, we’re always going to fight.”
Washington and No. 2 overall pick quarterback Jayden Daniels entered Sunday averaging the fourth-most points per game in the NFL (28.0), but Dallas stifled them for the most, limiting them to just nine points through the first 57 or so minutes of action. That was an incredible effort especially since the Cowboys first six offensive drives went like this: blocked field goal, missed field goal, lost fumble, and then three consecutive punts. Dallas won the turnover battle 3-1 by hauling in two interceptions off of Daniels and recovering a fumble by tight end John Bates.
“I think we had to make a statement as a defense and as a team as a whole,” Parsons said, via the Dallas Morning News, postgame on Sunday. “I don’t think it was particularly a player or a coach. I just think it was like, ‘When is enough, enough?’ You got to make that decision and today it was a direction, we said ‘enough is enough, we’re going to play all four quarters.'”
However, there’s still plenty of teaching moments available in the victory, which the Cowboys coaching staff will certainly enjoy as they review the tape on Sunday night and Monday before turning the page to the New York Giants (2-9), their Thanksgiving Day opponent.
“We did a great job,” Parsons said, via the Dallas Morning News, postgame on Sunday. “I wish we would have finished better, letting them get that touchdown at the end, that really bothered me. But that’s what I mean, we’re a good team, we’re slowly putting games together. We did it in all three quarters, I just wish we could have finished the fourth quarter but we’re definitely on our way to being the team we want to be.”
While the Cowboys needing to become the first team in NFL history, per CBS Sports Research, to return multiple kickoffs for touchdowns in the fourth quarter was an enjoyable turn of events for fans, Parsons hopes to never need KaVontae Turpin’s and Juanyeh Thomas‘ heroics to close games out going forward. It’s an understandable approach, but in a snake bitten 2024 season for the 4-7 Cowboys, many would understand Parsons taking some time to briefly smell the roses. However, that’s just not how he is wired.
“Yeah, I mean obviously you feel good because you’re in the position to win the game if you get another stop, but the point is you shouldn’t even get there,” Parsons said, via DallasCowboys.com, postgame on Sunday about McLaurin’s touchdown. “That’s the reality. We shouldn’t even get to hoping that they miss a field goal. … We should be able to end the game on defense, get off and take a kneel down. Not all the kick returns and extra points and all that nonsense. We should be able to end the game.”