The Green Bay Packers paid Micah Parsons to win them games like Sunday.
On a day when neither the offense nor defense was at the peak of its game, on the road after a plane delay on the way to Arizona, Parsons stepped up and slammed the door, netting his first three-sack performance for the Cheeseheads in a 27-23 win.
"When it's time to win the game, something just switches," Parsons said, via the team’s official website. "I don't think it was my best pass-rush game. I just think it's the first time (opponents) allowed me to rush this year. I mean if you look at the looks I've been getting, double tight ends, chips, full slides and then also just other guys stepping up."
Parsons' three-sack performance was a career high, and he tied a career high with five QB hits. He entered the week with 2.5 sacks. He leads the NFL with 40 QB pressures, per Next Gen Stats.
Parsons seemed surprised that the Cardinals would try to block him one-on-one so much with left tackle Paris Johnson Jr. and right tackle Jonah Williams. The right tackle particularly struggled late with Parsons' speed off the edge.
"They kind of said we're just going to go best on best, and I feel like when we get those looks, we've got to take advantage of them," he said.
Added Parsons, "Look across the league, usually guys like me don't get those type of looks. That's a rarity. And there's levels to this. If I get those type of looks, I can do those same results as those other guys."
The Defensive Player of the Year candidate took advantage, generating 10 QB pressures along with his three sacks on 32 rushes. He was doubled on 11 snaps, per NGS.
Buoyed by the three-sack performance by his best defender, Matt LaFleur trusted his playmakers to win the game. Facing a fourth-and-2 at the 29-yard line, the Packers could have kicked a game-tying field goal with roughly 2:30 left. Instead, he trusted Jordan Love and his offense to convert. He did.
"It was one of those deals, no matter what we called, this guy's going to make it work," LaFleur said of his QB. "That's what happened."
The Packers turned that drive into a four-point lead and held on after the Cardinals got in scoring range.
"It tells everybody on our schedule, the teams that we face, you're going to get a four-quarter battle from the Packers," defensive end Rashan Gary, via ESPN. "It might not be a perfect game, but we're going to play balls to the wall and let the chips lay where they lay."
The Packers haven't played their best ball in recent weeks, but remain atop the NFC North at 4-1-1 heading into a Week 8 meeting against their former QB, Aaron Rodgers, and the Pittsburgh Steelers.
