Cowboys' Dan Quinn discovered new role for Micah Parsons and the NFL is screwed

Dan Quinn's unit resembled shades of the famed Dallas Cowboys "Doomsday" defenses in Week 1 against the New York Giants. They sacked Daniel Jones seven times, which was their most sacks in a season opener since 1994.

It's impossible to pinpoint the most impressive part of the performance, but Quinn had his players ambushing the Giants in waves.

Whether it was Micah Parsons and the defensive front bull-rushing Jones, the second level blowing up running plays and the secondary not giving an inch on the boundary or in the slot, Dallas will be hard-pressed to perform better than this all season.

Don't go rushing to conclusions, though. With Quinn pulling the strings and Parsons hungrier than ever to win a Super Bowl (and Defensive Player of the Year), the Cowboys could string together a couple of all-time performances.

Perhaps the biggest reason for that? Quinn has discovered a new role for Parsons as a stand-up interior pass rusher.

Dan Quinn has found a new role for Cowboys superstar Micah Parsons.

It's over for the NFL, folks. Parsons wasn't double-teamed on this rep, but the Giants made sure to send a hedge block and the All-Pro defender still gobbled up Jones before the quarterback could finish going through his progressions.

Three of the Cowboys' seven sacks came with Parsons lined up on the interior, per Josh Cohen of CBS Sports.

Here's another example of Parsons in this hybrid role. Wink Martindale made sure to send a double-team this time (with left tackle Andrew Thomas, by the way). While the double held up, that's exactly what Parsons intended, as it allowed Osa Odighizuwa a free run at Daniel Jones for one of his two sacks on the night.

At 6-foot-2 and 280 pounds, Odighizuwa is equipped to come off the edge. The fact Quinn views everyone on defense as a chess piece -- and his ability to identify and exploit mismatches -- suggests the Cowboys' ceiling on that side of the ball is unquantifiable. After all, it's unlikely the defensive coordinator played his entire hand in Week 1 against an inferior division rival.

The big takeaway, though, is Parsons as a stand-up interior rusher.

In this role, the Defensive Player of the Year favorite can take on double teams and create opportunities for teammates -- as we saw in the second highlight -- or isolate a heavy-footed guards and get after the quarterback.

The NFL doesn't know what's coming.

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