GREEN BAY, Wis. — Edge rusher Micah Parsons showed why the Green Bay Packers were willing to make him the highest-paid non-quarterback in NFL history.
Parsons, facing the Vikings for the first time as an NFC North opponent, had two of Green Bay’s five sacks as the Packers’ defense dominated in a 23-6 victory Sunday.
“They brought me here to pash rush,” Parsons said. “If a team wants to run 40 times a game, what’s your pass rusher supposed to do? All I do is keep the edge. If I can pass rush, I can affect the game.”
Parsons was acquired from Dallas just before the start of the regular season in a blockbuster trade for two first-round draft picks and defensive lineman Kenny Clark. Parsons was rewarded with a four-year $186 million deal worth $46.5 million per year.
Parsons’ presence was evident as Minnesota managed just 145 yards total offense, including 93 on the ground.
Under constant pressure, Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy completed 12 of 19 passes for 87 yards, no touchdowns and two interceptions with a passer rating of 34.2.
“Teams that are just going to run the ball, they’re trying to minimize the game. But guess what? We’re a really good defense. We have to find ways to stop the run and work as a team to put teams in a position where they can’t pass the ball.”
A critical special teams mistake put the Vikings in a position where they were forced to pass. Myles Price botched a punt on the first series of the third quarter; he called for a fair catch but didn’t catch it, then touched the ball on the rebound. The Packers recovered at the Minnesota 5-yard line. Two plays later, Emanuel Wilson scored on a one-yard run to put Green Bay in front 17-6.
“That punt was huge,” Parsons said. “Changed the whole momentum of the game. … I told the guys at halftime, ‘They had eight passes.’ Five were play-action, there was one true back when we got pressure, and two of them were screens. So I was like, ‘No one’s going to let us pass rush, we’ve got to go earn it.’ ”
McCarthy was sacked at least once on each of the Vikings’ next three possessions, including two by Parsons, followed by two interceptions.
“Back-to-back negatives are hard to overcome, especially against that group,” Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell said. “When you end up third-and-12, third-and-15, third-and-17, whatever we were, (it’s) not the formula in any way, shape or form.”
Once the Packers got the lead, that allowed the pass rushers to tee off, which made it easier for the secondary.
“We like playing with the lead because you get to let the big dogs eat,” said Packers cornerback Evan Williams, who had one of the Packers’ picks. “Being able to have those guys up front makes our job very easy.”
“We just get to our spots and cover whatever routes are through our zone,” Williams added. “You understand that the ball, if it comes out, it probably won’t be on time, might be wobbly in the air, hanging in the air, just because the quarterback’s got to think about those people off the edge.”
Parsons’ two sacks gave him a team-high 10 on the season. He had 52.5 sacks in four seasons with the Cowboys.
“I feel like 10 sacks for the standard of player you are. That should be the minimum you should get,” he said.
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