FRISCO, Texas 鈥 In a week filled with the emotions of losing DeMarvion Overshown and Trevon Diggs for the rest of the season, Micah Parsons and the Cowboys defense played with plenty of fire in their bellies in a 30-14 win over the Carolina Panthers on Sunday.
"We just keep finding ways to step up," Parsons said. "Like I said before, we're going to be in these games. We've got to step up defensively, understand what we're missing offensively and even some guys on our side. We just got to keep stepping up."
And step up they did, as Dallas' defense forced four turnovers, sacked Bryce Young six times, pressured him on 37.8% of his drop backs and held the Panthers to 60 yards rushing. Parsons had a team-high two sacks, getting him to eight and a half on the season, to go along with five tackles on Sunday.
Carolina had a 3-10 record coming into the game but had played several playoff caliber teams like the Chiefs, Buccaneers and Eagles within one possession in the last three weeks. The Cowboys didn't underestimate them, and it paid off.
"It's a team that coming in here we didn't want to take lightly because of the film they were putting out there," Parsons said. "We have to find ways to keep putting it together because we have an explosive team next week too."
Chuba Hubbard was a Panther who had been putting some good film together this season, breaking the 1,000-yard rushing mark for the season last week.
On Sunday, the Cowboys held him to 32 yards on the ground, his second lowest output of the season, leading to the everlasting goal of playing complimentary football.
"We stopped that run. The fact we were able to hold Chuba Hubbard and also the way the offense was running the ball. It was complimentary football." Parsons said.
"They felt like they had to put some points on the board and had to get after it and get way from the run because it wasn't hitting early on. It allowed us to be able to get after the quarterback. That's what complimentary football does."
The win puts the Cowboys at a 6-8 record with three games remaining this season.
Although the hopes of making the playoffs are bleak and unlikely, there won't be any drop-off in the effort that Parsons and the Dallas defense display to close out the rest of the season.
"We're not going to give up," Parsons said. "As long as I'm part of this unit and as long as we believe in each other, at the end of the day, I can look to my left and know I can count on them. We're fighting for each other."
Sunday Night Football is on the docket next for the Cowboys at home against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Regardless of what happens, one thing is for certain: Parsons and his teammates are playing for each other through the whistle on each and every rep.
"At the end of the day, the record is the record and the game is the game," Parsons said. "You're going to lose some, we're going to win some but it's a special feeling when you can fight for each other."
