Cowboys’ Micah Parsons plays through pain ‘every week’ to be there for the team: ‘Part of the game’

Dallas Cowboys linebacker Micah Parsons knows firsthand just how injuries can derail a team’s season, but following Sunday’s victory over the Cincinnati Bengals, the former NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year revealed that he’s fighting through pain “every week” to help his team stay afloat.

After blowing a 14-point lead in the second half of Sunday’s game against the Bengals, the Cowboys held on to win their first game of the season after quarterback Dak Prescott was ruled out for at least four weeks with a thumb injury sustained in Week 1.

Parsons, who finished with two sacks for the second week in a row, was asked by a reporter in the locker room about his ankle, which he seemingly tweaked at some point during the 20-17 win.

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“Pain is part of the game. I’m in pain every week,” he said. “But I know my teammates need me, I know these coaches need me, I know people in the stands need me on the field not on the bench. I’m just pushing through everything.”

Parsons’ two sacks total 17 in 18 career games, the most in NFL history for a player’s first 18 games since sacks became official in 1982.

At this rate, he stands a good chance of topping the league’s current record of 22.5 sacks in a single season currently held by New York Giants legend Michael Strahan and T.J. Watt of the Pittsburgh Steelers. 

The Cowboys are dealing with a number of significant injuries early on in the season, but Parsons knows Dallas won’t have to weather the storm for long.

“Sometimes you got to go through some stuff to get to where you want to go, and right now we’re still going through the storm. But as we’re going through the storm, there’s going to be light at the end of the tunnel, and I think that’s where we’re headed.”