Micah Parsons has unique response after Cowboys’ blowout loss to 49ers

The Dallas Cowboys entered the Week 5 matchup against the San Francisco 49ers with revenge on their minds. This was essentially the same 49ers team that had their number the past two years, eliminating them from the playoffs in both 2021 and 2022.

No matter how badly the Cowboys may have wanted revenge, though, a 42-10 blowout loss instead began the social media buzz about “the same old Cowboys.”

From start to finish, the 49ers had Dallas’ number in this game, with quarterback Dak Prescott having one of his most disappointing showings in recent memory, completing just 14-of-24 passes for 153 yards, one touchdown and three interceptions, but it certainly wasn’t just Prescott. The Cowboys offense had no player rush for even 30 yards and was without a single pass-catcher with 50 or more receiving yards.

To sum it up, the Cowboys defense, thought to be one of the NFL’s best, had no answer for any aspect of San Francisco’s offense, allowing quarterback Brock Purdy to throw for 252 yards and four touchdowns. After the game, the general consensus from Cowboys players felt like a bit of shock, frustration, disappointment and anything in-between.

Then there was Micah Parsons.

The star pass-rusher discussed the result shortly after it wrapped up, but instead of talking about the negatives, he took a unique approach to it, even calling it a “blessing” and saying “thank you,” as The Athletic’s Jon Machota revealed.

"I've never seen a champion not be battle tested. We're just getting tested early. ... There's no such thing as losing, we learn. Tonight, we just learned a lesson. ... Sometimes you got to look at these losses as a blessing and just say thank you,” Parsons said, per Machota.

It’s an interesting mindset from Parsons but one that should be welcomed in a Cowboys locker room that likely feels a bit stunned after a brutal loss that dropped the team to 3-2 on the season. Parsons, who’s only 24, spoke like one of the leaders of this team, and his approach to this loss is the reason why there’s no need to panic or throw in the towel on the Cowboys. 

This type of punch to the gut may have been what Dallas needed, but beyond that, the Cowboys need to be far better than they were on this night — on both sides of the ball.