Micah Parsons plans to bring the pain on Sunday night – even if he hurts himself in the process.
Now a member of the Green Bay Packers, the former four-time Dallas Cowboys Pro Bowler will travel to play at AT&T Stadium in Week 4, emerging from the visitors locker room for the very first time.
When he takes the field, he'll also be looking to sack former teammate Dak Prescott for the first time. The prospect of such a play isn't the same as taking down any other quarterback for Parsons.
"It's going to be painful," Parsons told The Associated Press’ Rob Maaddi of potentially sacking Prescott. "That's my guy. He was always like a good mentor for me. But you know how it is, he always told me if I ever faced him that it'll be a great matchup, so I'm excited to see what Sunday brings itself."
Following a lengthy and fruitless contract standoff, Parsons was traded by the Cowboys to the Packers shortly before this season kicked off. Roughly a month later, Parsons will be back in Dallas aiming to help Green Bay to its sixth consecutive win in the NFC rivalry.
With Parsons providing a major pass-rushing boost, the Packers sprang out to an impressive 2-0 start before stumbling in Week 3 by way of a 13-10 loss to the Cleveland Browns.
Parsons has five tackles, 1.5 sacks, six QB hits and, per Next Gen Stats, is second in the NFL with 19 QB pressures.
The Cowboys, meanwhile, are 1-2 with a defense that's 30th in the league in yards allowed so far in the post-Parsons era.
Prescott will also be without his top wide receiver, CeeDee Lamb, and two of his starting offensive linemen, Tyler Booker and Cooper Beebe, who are all out with ankle injuries.
Parsons downplayed the significance of the upcoming Sunday night showdown in Texas, even though the pomp and circumstance accompanying the game will be overflowing.
"I accepted my fate weeks ago when the trade happened," Parsons said. "So, for me, it's just all about playing another game and just doing what I do best, and that's just be a disruptive football player. I think the media and the fans are trying to blow it up to be such a big thing. But I just look at it as just another game at AT&T."
As he tries to view it as any other game, he admits Prescott isn't just another quarterback he'll be zeroing in. He will potentially be the 26th quarterback Parsons has sacked in his thus-far tremendous career. Painful as the proposition is for him, the new Packer will be bringing it on Sunday.
