Micah Parsons adds All-Pro honors to season-long awards haul

Friday afternoon, former Penn State linebacker Micah Parsons earned his first significant NFL honor. 

Named to the NFL’s First-Team All-Pro Defense for his breakout performance with the Dallas Cowboys, the former Nittany Lion found himself surrounded by the game’s elite defenders. What he wouldn’t find, however, were any other rookies among the league’s elite defenders. 

Just a couple of hours later, he was looking for more. 

Also nominated among six candidates for the NFL’s Rookie of the Year honor, Parsons is determined to put a stamp on the first of what appears to be a very bright future in the league.

What Micah Parsons did this season:

For the 17-game NFL regular season, Parsons finished second on the Cowboys behind Jayron Kearse with 84 tackles (64 solo, 20 assists). 

Notching 13 sacks in his first campaign, Parsons finished sixth in the NFL behind league-leader T.J. Watt of Pittsburgh, who had 22.5. Parsons was also credited with three passes defended and three forced fumbles playing in 16 games. 

For the effort, Parsons was twice awarded the league’s Rookie of the Month honors both in November and December as the Cowboys climbed to first place in the NFC East and a No. 3 seed in the playoffs beginning this weekend. Parsons was the first Cowboy to ever do so. 

Most recently, that meant four sacks and 10 pressures as a linebacker for the Cowboys in December as the team secured a 4-0 record for the month. 

What’s next for Parsons?

Already capturing the attention of the NFL as one of its top performers, Micah Parsons will look to elevate Dallas in the playoffs.

Set to face No. 6-seed San Francisco on Sunday (4:30 p.m., CBS), the Cowboys will try to find their way back to the top of the conference. Losers of six divisional round playoff games dating back to 1996, the Cowboys have not reached the conference championship, or Super Bowl, since winning it all in 1995. 

Asked what his team will be facing in Parsons after preparing to face the standout defender for the first time, 49ers offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel was effusive in his praise for the first-year performer.

“What doesn’t strike me? Micah Parsons, it’s the first time I’ve gotten to study him. I’m alive, so I’ve heard about him. And he’s been noisy this year and is very impressive,” McDaniel said this week. “I think it’s a great match. He’s working with [Dallas Cowboys defensive coordinator] Dan Quinn and they’re getting a ton out of him. 

“He is a multi-tooled defender that can win on the line of scrimmage and can track from the linebacker position. He gives people problems and I can see why I knew his name before I had studied him and seen him play.”