Micah Parsons looked every inch the new-boy before the game but soon settled into life with the Green Bay Packers when the action got underway.
Parsons joined the Packers two weeks ago from the Dallas Cowboys and looked a little lost initially, running to the wrong end of the field in the warm-ups before not understanding the defensive unit’s pre-game handshake routine.
But the star pass rusher quickly fitted in as the Packers opened their season with a 27-13 win over the Detroit Lions, getting his first sack and contributing three pressures.
His sack came in garbage time as he hared towards Lions quarterback Jared Goff – he was tracked at 18.47 miles per hour – and brought him down near the sideline.
It looked like a shooting star – LaFleur
“It looked like a speed of light or a shooting star just coming out of the sky and closing ground fast,” Packers coach Matt LaFleur said. “That’s why he’s here, right? That was really exciting to see. I definitely know that our crowd reacted the right way, as well. I don’t know if I’ve heard our crowd much louder than when they introduced him, and certainly on that sack.
“He definitely has an aura about him.”
Parsons was relieved his debut was over after an offseason that was largely spent attempting to negotiate a new contract with the Cowboys.
“I’m telling you, these last six months were super draining, super toxic for everyone,” Parsons said. “It’s something that I don’t think no player should have to go through. I think players’ fates should be decided earlier. I think the fact that I was traded a week before the season was really outrageous and rough.
“It’s something where I could’ve been with these guys getting better and better, and we could’ve had probably an even more dominant start if that was the decision we were going to make.”
Parsons looking forward rather than back
The 26-year-old is ready to look forward now, however, adding: “It’s back to what football needs to be. The trade is done, we got a win, we’re 1-0. Now I’m around some really great guys, some really great guys, a really great organization, a really great fan base and a really great football team.
“So now we can put all of the nonsense aside. I’m healthy, I’m able to get off the field and get ready for another game Thursday night and just keep trying to win games and just be what ball’s about.”
Parsons played in 29 of the Packers’ 65 defensive snaps as he gets to learn LaFleur’s demands but it was an impressive start.
“I’m going to keep getting better,” Parsons said. “There’s a lot of things that I want to fix. I feel like I didn’t have a complete game and, obviously, that’s going to happen not playing for six months. But I can take this and build on it, and we’re going to be a really good football team.”
