Ahead of his highly anticipated return to AT&T Stadium on Sunday night, Green Bay Packers edge rusher Micah Parsons discussed what it might be like to sack Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott, whom he viewed as a mentor during his four-year run with America's Team.
"It's going to be painful," Parsons said. "That's my guy. He was always like a good mentor for me. But you know how it is, he always told me if I ever faced him that it'll be a great matchup, so I'm excited to see what Sunday brings itself."
As one would imagine, Prescott wants no part of what it would feel like to get taken down by the 6-foot-3, 250-pounder, who has recorded 1.5 sacks, six QB hits, and 19 QB pressures in his first three games in a Packers uniform.
"I hope it's not [painful] for me," Prescott said in response to Parsons' comments. "And I hope he doesn't get to me, for one. It'll definitely be fun. Yeah, it's one me and my fiancée were just talking about the other day, and just all the reps of practice, going against Micah in times when he couldn't hit me, whether him getting back there, just the trash talk back and forth, me telling him he wouldn't tackle me anyways, he still can't bring me down. You got to get to that point."
Dak Prescott doesn't want the Cowboys-Packers narrative to be about himself and Micah Parsons
Prescott has taken only five sacks through the first three weeks of the season, but his offensive line is nowhere near full strength heading into this rivalry matchup, as center Cooper Beebe is out with a foot injury, while first-round rookie right guard Tyler Booker is set to miss significant time with an ankle ailment.
That's certainly not what you want facing a Green Bay defense that's already racked up 10 sacks on the season, good for the sixth-most in the league. As mentioned, Parsons has 1.5 thus far, but his presence on the Packers' defensive line has clearly opened things up for others, particularly Rashan Gary, who leads the NFL with 4.5 sacks.
But Gary certainly won't be the focus on Sunday night, at least not to start, as all eyes will undoubtedly be on Parsons the first time he lines up against his former team. But while Prescott obviously understands why that is, he really wants no part of that narrative.
"Those are never the headlines and never can be," Prescott said. "This is Dallas Cowboys versus the Green Bay Packers, and we've got to go get a win."
Dak is certainly spot-on with assessment, as the Cowboys don't have a great history when starting a season with a 1-3 record, making the postseason only once when opening with such a mark.