Brian Schottenheimer responds to whether Cowboys defense would look different with Micah Parsons

Another poor performance on Sunday vs. the Carolina Panthers continues to bring questions about the Dallas Cowboys’ defense. Especially after trading a player of the caliber of Micah Parsons, sending him to the Green Bay Packers. Maybe not the answer to all questions but you have to at least wonder what the difference is.

Head coach Brian Schottenheimer was asked the hypothetical on Monday. He did not give much of an answer one way or the other, saying there is a lot more in the equation than one player. If nothing else, Schottenheimer continued to be highlight complimentary of Parsons.

“I don’t know,” Schottenheimer said. “Micah’s a great player. We’ve got other great players. But it takes 11 on defense. And again, that is the thing that nine, ten guys on a football team, offense, defense, special teams, if one of those is a little off with your assignment, a little off with their alignment, then plays happen.”

To his incredibly high standards, Parsons is off to a slower start in Green Bay. In five games, just 11 total tackles and 2.5 sacks pop up on the stat sheet. Eight quarterback hits are on pace to surpass last year’s number and one tackle for a loss was another nice moment. Overall, the Packers are doing quite well as a team, holding a 4-1-1 record through six games.

A big point of emphasis from Dallas owner Jerry Jones when discussing the Parsons trade was the need to stop the run. But the Cowboys currently sit in 29th in total rushing yards allowed, coming in at 853. Former player Rico Dowdle just put up a monster performance to get the Panthers a win, going for 183 yards on 30 carries.

“The fact that we’re not playing well is alarming,” Cowboys EVP Stephen Jones said on Monday. “Our goal here is to play championship-level football. … We gotta continue to go to work every day, chop wood, and I’m convinced we’ll get better.”

From a pass-rush standpoint, James Houston has emerged for the Cowboys. Rookie Donovan Ezeiruaku remains somebody they are excited about after taking him in the second round of the 2025 NFL Draft. However, neither has the pedigree of Parsons thus far.

Schottenheimer shares the sentiment of Stephen Jones about believing the defense will get better. It might be easy to focus on not having one player but Schottenheimer knows all 11 guys on the field need to improve.