Dallas Cowboys’ Micah Parsons the greatest obstacle between Giants and 3-0

Saquon Barkley was a Daniel Jones overthrow away from roasting the Cowboys’ Micah Parsons in man coverage for a 75-yard touchdown pass last October in Arlington, Texas.

Instead, the ball sailed incomplete over the running back’s slant route, Barkley inadvertently stepped on the ankle of Cowboys corner Jourdan Lewis and the Giants’ 2021 season spiraled into disarray.

Barkley and Parsons are friends. They both played at Penn State. They hang out. Barkley claims he never trash-talked Parsons about what should have happened on that play.

“No, I don’t think that conversation came up,” Barkley said with a smirk Thursday. “I kind of tried to put that game behind me.”

But the Giants have it on tape: proof they have an answer to Parsons.

That’s significant because Parsons is the main man standing between the Giants and their first 3-0 start since 2009 on Monday Night Football at MetLife Stadium.

“He’s a problem,” Giants coach Brian Daboll said of Parsons. “He’s a dynamic football player. He has rare pass-rush ability. We’re going to have to have a good plan for him. He’s fun to watch when you’re not getting ready to play him.”

Of all the Giants’ personnel mistakes under previous GM Dave Gettleman, the decision not to draft Parsons last spring – and let him slip to Dallas at No. 12 – might end up being the most regrettable of all.

“One of the best players in the league,” Barkley said. “You can make an argument [he’s] playing like the best player in the league.”

The Giants traded back from pick No. 11 and took wide receiver Kadarius Toney at No. 20 instead. New GM Joe Schoen used the extra first-round pick acquired in that trade to select right tackle Evan Neal No. 7 overall this year.

Parsons racked up 13 sacks as a rookie to earn first-team All-Pro and Defensive Rookie of the Year honors in 2021. He now has four sacks in two games to open his second pro season.

The Cowboys (1-1) have won nine of their last 10 against the Giants from 2017 to the present day. And they’re 2-0 in this NFC East rivalry with Parsons on their side.

He missed most of Dallas’ practices this week due to an illness, but he posted a video of Michael Jordan fighting through the NBA star’s famous flu game to indicate he’s a go.

“I don’t think people realize how much I train my mind!!” Parsons tweeted. “Your mental is everything!”

The Giants aren’t intimidated. Left tackle Andrew Thomas is playing well. Neal, the rookie from Alabama, said he respects Parsons but in no way fears him.

“He’s a football player just like me,” Neal said. “He puts his pants on one leg at a time just like me, straps up his shoulder pads one strap at a time just like me and he’s a really good player. Excited to go against him, for sure.”

At the same, the Giants’ poor pass protection for Jones through two weeks does not bode well entering Monday’s matchup with the Cowboys (1-1).

Jones has been pressured on a league-high 50.8% of his pass dropbacks (32 of 63), according to NFL NextGen Stats and sacked eight times.

The Cowboys’ defense only ranks 26th in QB pressure rate at 21.1% of opponents’ pass dropbacks, with eight total sacks. And the Giants’ Jones has only turned the ball over twice this season, both in Week 1 at Tennessee.

But the Giants’ margin for error is slim: they won the turnover battle, 2-0, with the Carolina Panthers last week and only won the game by three, 19-16.

Dallas defensive coordinator Dan Quinn – who pulled out of the Giants’ head coach running in January after a first interview – takes advantage of Parsons’ versatility and moves him around the field to maximize favorable matchups.

The Cowboys also carry themselves with confidence against the Giants due to their recent dominance of the rivalry.

Antagonist DeMarcus Lawrence, another stud pass rusher, called Jones “Little Eli” this week – using the same nickname he used to apply to Eli Manning.

“I’m excited to see Little Eli again,” Lawrence told Dallas reporters with a smile.

Dallas is playing Sunday’s game with backup QB Cooper Rush, though, not injured starter Dak Prescott.

And Daboll’s Giants have Barkley, possibly their answer to the Parsons problem.

“A guy like Micah, you want to compete with a guy like that,” Barkley said. “You know how talented he is. You know how special of a player he is… We know it’s going to be a tough task, but we’ve got to continue to love the process and stick with each other.”

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