Week 2 Rookie Matchup: Osa Odighizuwa vs. Rashawn Slater
The Dallas Cowboys‘ Week 1 matchup with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers did not disappoint. The Cowboys were -9 in the point spread, and the final score was 31-29 in favor of the Bucs. Even though Dallas starts the season 0-1, there were many positives to take from the field at Raymond James Stadium. Particularly, rookie linebacker Micah Parsons was in Week 1’s rookie matchup.
Parsons looked out of place in the first quarter, but he settled down and looked like the player he was at Penn State. He finished the game with seven tackles and one pass deflection.
Cowboys defense was on field for 65 snaps Thursday vs. Buccaneers. Snap distribution for linebackers:
— Michael Gehlken (@GehlkenNFL) September 10, 2021
Micah Parsons, 51
Keanu Neal, 50
Jaylon Smith, 16 (25%)
Leighton Vander Esch, 14 (22%)
Jabril Cox, 0
Parsons and Neal are primary nickel LBs, limiting Smith and LVE’s usage.
His opponent, Bucs linebacker Joe Tryon-Shoyinka, finished the night with two tackles. When you look at each player’s snap count, Parsons was on the field for 78% of the defensive snaps, and Tryon-Shoyinka was on defense for 25% of the snaps.
Taking all of the stats into consideration, Micah Parsons is the winner for Week 1. Not only did he play more, but his production on the field exceeded expectations for a player who opted out of his 2020 senior season. Let’s see how defensive lineman Osa Odighizuwa and offensive lineman Rashawn Slater fair against each other for Week 2’s matchup in Las Angeles.