The Indianapolis Colts take on the Dallas Cowboys in Week 13 on Sunday Night Football and that means Indy has to contain Micah Parsons.
Parks Frazier is entering just his fourth game as an NFL play-caller. Still learning on the job, Frazier is about to get an experience that every play-caller in the NFL dreads: game planning for Micah Parsons. The second-year linebacker is arguably the best defensive player— scratch that— he’s arguably the best player in the NFL. Every offense that Parsons has played can vouch for that, and now, it’s time for the Indianapolis Colts to take on the challenge of containing Parsons.
On Tuesday, Frazier spoke on how special Parsons is, saying, “He’s an unbelievable player…This guy is special. He shows up. The effort he plays with is all over the tape.” Frazier went on to talk about how the Dallas Cowboys do a good job of moving Parsons around and how the Colts have to “find a way to account for him at all times.” Accounting for him is a great start but that’s only half the battle; Indianapolis still has to find a way to slow him down once they know where he’s at.
That will be extremely challenging for Indianapolis since Indy’s offensive line has struggled all season. However, if Frazier and the offense can contain Parsons, they’ll be the first team to accomplish that this season.
#Colts play caller Parks Frazier on #Cowboys LB Micah Parsons:
— James Boyd (@RomeovilleKid) November 29, 2022
“He’s an unbelievable player. … This guy is special. He shows up. The effort he plays with is all over the tape. They do a great job moving him around, and so we’ve gotta find a way to account for him at all times.”
Can Colts stop Micah Parsons from taking over the game?
Parsons will enter Sunday night with 12 sacks, 13 tackles for loss, three forced fumbles, and 29 total pressures. This season, Micah has had six, two-sack games, including his last two outings in Weeks 11 and 12. In the games where he didn’t record sacks, he registered tackles for loss. When he didn’t have a sack or tackle for loss against the Chicago Bears, he settled for a 36-yard scoop and score. No matter how you slice it, Parsons is going to find a way to impact the game.
Now, preparing to play a Colts team that has allowed 43 sacks this season, the most in the league, with an immobile 37-year-old Matt Ryan, Indianapolis probably looks like food to Parsons right now. Is there anything the Colts can do to stop themselves from becoming a soulful Sunday night dinner for the likely Defensive Player of the Year?
If there’s any glimmer of hope, it’s Indy’s Week 12 performance against TJ Watt. Watt missed eight games this year with an injury but he’s still been a problem when he’s been on the field. However, his handprint wasn’t all over the game against the Colts. Although the Steelers did win, right tackle Braden Smith did a pretty good job against Watt. TJ had two pressures in the game but no sacks, tackles for loss, or pass defections. If Indy is going to win on Sunday night football, the team must figure out a way to contain Micah Parsons as they did TJ Watt.
Gus Bradley did something he doesn’t usually do and it hurt the Colts defense against the Steelers
The defense of the Indianapolis Colts wasn’t as dominant against the Steelers as they had been and it’s because Gus Bradley changed something up.