FRISCO, Texas -- Dallas Cowboys three-time All-Pro edge rusher Micah Parsons knows he gave the Philadelphia Eagles (12-3), Dallas' Week 17 opponent, bulletin board material last week.
"Nah, at this point, it's f--- Philly, now," Parsons said on Dec. 19. "Even if we got eliminated, like, I got to crush Philly. F--- them. I hate them now. I be seeing them just talking so much on socials. I don't know, my Twitter page got consumed by Philly [fans]. Man, ugh. They say don't look forward to some things, but I'm excited about the matchup [next week in Week 17], too."
Fast forward to Thursday, and the Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, native and Penn State alum attempted to keep his remarks about one of the Cowboys' NFC East archrivals buttoned up. CBS Sports asked Parsons directly about his "F--- Philly" remarks as well as his comments about calling Eagles running back Saquon Barkley, the NFL's leading rusher (1,838 rushing yards), his big bro and facing him for a second time this season. Philadelphia defeated Dallas 34-6 back in Week 10, which was Parsons' first game back in the lineup after dealing with a high ankle sprain as well as Cooper Rush's first start of 2024 in place of injured quarterback Dak Prescott (hamstring tear). Barkley totaled 66 yards rushing -- his third-fewest of the season -- on 14 carries in Week 10 in the first matchup at AT&T Stadium.
"We just got to go handle business. I'm excited," Parsons said Thursday. "Yeah, it's going to be a good game. I won't give him [Barkley] too much ammo, so we got to find a way to slow him down."
He's fully ready to be greeted with the typical Philadelphia warmth from their home crowd on Sunday afternoon.
"I think it's the same as always. You know they always screaming 'F--- Dallas' and that's the build up, that's the fun part," Parsons said. Energetic fans, and it's about just playing good football. The fans play, it's going to be a great environment. Who's not excited to go play in that?"
"I do enjoy playing in Philly and winning in Philly," Cowboys cornerback Jourdan Lewis said. "Like I said, we just want to go out there and play football and have fun. That's what we've been doing for the last few weeks, and we're getting ready for Philly."
Since the Cowboys are reduced to playing the role of spoiler the last few weeks of the season with a 7-8 record and being eliminated from postseason contention, Dallas would relish dashing Philadelphia's hopes of earning the NFC's top seed and the home-field advantage and first-round bye that come with it. The Eagles' path to clinching the No. 1 seed involves winning their final two games, the Detroit Lions (13-2) losing their final two games and the Green Bay Packers (11-4) beating the Minnesota Vikings (13-2) in Week 17.
"That probably makes the year you know what I'm saying? That sets everything off," Parsons said when asked how it would feel to beat the Eagles on Sunday. "Us getting that win, away game in Philly. Knowing how they're trying to get the No. 1 seed. Can set them back a little bit. They're fighting for everything. They're fighting for where they want to be in the playoffs. We're just fighting to whoop them. They got more to lose than we do, so that'll be a great feeling right there."
Parsons has helped power a defensive renaissance in Dallas sparked by his return from his high ankle sprain along with an increased comfort in defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer's scheme in his first season working with the Cowboys defense after playing the last three under Dan Quinn, who is now the Washington Commanders head coach. He leads the NFL in both sacks (8.5) and quarterback pressures (42) since Week 10, and as a result, the Cowboys defense is one of the NFL's most disruptive in that span, ranking top five in the entire NFL in third down conversion rate allowed, sacks, sack rate, quarterback pressure rate and takeaways. Dallas has also won four of their last five games following a five-game losing streak.
The Cowboys may not even face the Eagles at full strength offensively with quarterback Jalen Hurts (concussion) missing practice on both Wednesday and Thursday. Philadelphia's backup Kenny Pickett, a first-round pick of the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2022, is also dealing with an injury to his ribs, but he practiced fully on Thursday.
"That's the nature of the game. We don't have our quarterback," Parsons said. "Sometimes at the end of the day, I think these games, which I've been saying what's going to happen, is going to come down to the defense. They got a top defense. We're playing better defense at this point in the year, so I think it's going to be a defensive game."
However, Barkley will still be out there on Sunday, and he is in the midst of a historic season. His 1,838 rushing yards entering Week 17 mean he is on pace to become the ninth player in NFL history with at least 2,000 rushing yards in a season. Barkley's pace of 2,083 would give him third-most ever in a single season.
"They're still a great football team, man. They've still got Saquon Barkley," Lewis said. "Whenever he is out there, they're going to be a dangerous football team. Whatever quarterback we see, we know Jalen Hurts is a really great player too, I feel like that machine is going to keep going."
