The Green Bay Packers beat the Washington Commanders 27-18 on Thursday night, kicking off Week 2 with Micah Parsons' second win with his new team.
The former Penn State football linebacker had two tackles and half of a sack. Just like his debut performance at Lambeau Field against the Detroit Lions, Parsons' presence was felt beyond the stat sheet. So far this season, he's logged 73 snaps with Green Bay. Out of 44, Parsons recorded the Packers' highest number of quarterback pressures at eight.
The Green Bay defense looks complete now with Parsons on the line. There's pressure coming from all angles, and so far, opponents' offensive lines haven't found a way to dominate. The defensive end makes quarterbacks force errors. Lions' Jared Goff and Commanders' Jayden Daniels felt that in Weeks 1 and 2, respectively.
After Thursday night's game, he emphasized that defense wins championships and gave praise to quarterback Jordan Love for getting out on the field and making way for the 20-plus points.
"You give us 20 points, we should be able to win that game. It's all about getting stops and getting the ball back to the offense," Parsons said postgame. "As y'all have seen against Baltimore and Buffalo, you can have a quarterback damn near have a perfect game and still lose because guess what, the defense just gave up, what, 40 points? So, defense wins championships. I think the fans like points and they like to see the big plays, but when you play great defense, it's just so beautiful to see."
Fans aren't overlooking Parsons, though, who's wearing the very obvious No. 1 jersey. Chants of and signs reading "Thank you, Jerry" flooded the stadium. For the former Nittany Lion, he finally came to terms with the fact that it's the Packers who wanted him more than the Cowboys, a team he thought he would play for forever.
"There's nothing more motivating than when you find out that people you love don't truly believe in you and they thought less of you," Parsons said, which was repeated on the NFL Network broadcast. "There's nothing more motivating."
The Packers and Cowboys face each other on Sept. 28 this regular season. The Week 4 matchup will be at Parsons' old home at AT&T Stadium for a wild Sunday Night Football contest. Parsons' is already all-in with the Packers, and his mindset is focused on winning with his team now. His first meeting with Dallas won't shake him up. Kickoff is slated for 8:20 p.m. ET.