The Green Bay Packers and Dallas Cowboys combined for one of the most shocking trades in recent NFL history as the former acquired Micah Parsons for Kenny Clark and two first-round picks less than two weeks ahead of the season. The two defenses entered their Week 4 matchup trending in opposite directions.
Green Bay led the league in scoring defense, allowing just 14.7 points per game, while their 10 sacks ranked fifth. Meanwhile, Dallas had allowed 30.7 ppg over their first three games, the sixth-highest mark in the NFL while their four sacks were the fifth-fewest. Both units were awful in the Sunday Night Football meeting, which resulted in a 40-40 tie.
Parsons, however, was dominant in his return to AT&T Stadium, posting a 94.2 PFF grade that was the highest of any player on Sunday. After the game, the three-time All-Pro and Cowboys owner Jerry Jones showed that they still have plenty of issues to resolve.
Micah Parsons and Jerry Jones continue to trade shots at one another
Parsons and Jones have made it clear that they have different views of how things played out leading up to the trade. Following the former's first career matchup against the Cowboys, he voiced his displeasure with the latter's lack of respect, stating:
"The emotions for me, being in Dallas, went away the moment they traded me... I didn't even get to talk to the owner, the person that drafted me. I found out through my agent. So, to me, that emotion side was pointless because the same way he called me in his office as a man, he couldn't tell me as a man. So, to me, that emotion side was gone. It was more about a respect factor at this point."
LIVE: Micah Parsons speaks to the media🎙️ https://t.co/1AWBSZCISr
— Green Bay Packers (@packers) September 29, 2025
Jones also took aim at the Packers star pass rusher following the game, claiming he was not indispensable. The Athletic's Jon Machota shared his comments, tweeting:
"Cowboys owner Jerry Jones after talking about Dak Prescott’s impressive play tonight was asked about paying Dak and not Micah Parsons: “It’s very simple. Dak was indispensable. In my mind. And Micah wasn’t.”"
READ MORE: Packers' biggest quarter-season disappointment is impossible to ignore
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones after talking about Dak Prescott’s impressive play tonight was asked about paying Dak and not Micah Parsons: “It’s very simple. Dak was indispensable. In my mind. And Micah wasn’t.” pic.twitter.com/wo0y6nxF3K
— Jon Machota (@jonmachota) September 29, 2025
It is difficult to agree with Jones' assessment of Parsons when taking a look at the Cowboys' defense without him. Dallas has allowed the most yards and second-most points in the league through four games. Their pass rush has also been terrible as they are tied for the fourth-fewest sacks resulting in the most passing yards and tied for the most passing touchdowns allowed.
While Green Bay was lit up by Dak Prescott on Sunday, it was hardly through any fault of Parsons. Furthermore, despite the awful showing, the unit remains ranked in the top-half of most categories due to three dominant performances to start the season.