Our first Sunday Night Football matchup showcased two NFC East rivals, as the New York Giants played host to the Dallas Cowboys. However, instead of the game being a close back & forth battle, it was a one-sided slaughter. Dallas pitched a 40-0 shutout—their largest shutout victory in franchise history.
After the game, Cowboys star Micah Parsons criticized the Giants coaching staff for not protecting Daniel Jones. The game got out of hand early for the Giants. It was 33-0 going into the 4th quarter, and Jones was still in the game. That was something Parsons took exception with, when speaking on his podcast for Bleacher Report.
“It’s called protecting your guy. You know, something I thought the Giants should’ve done,” Parsons said. “I don’t think Daniel Jones should’ve been in that game in the fourth quarter. I thought they should’ve protected him and pulled him out. And barring injury, their season will be over without Daniel Jones.”
Parsons used Joe Burrow, and the Cincinnati Bengals as an example to further his point. Burrow was pulled out of the game after realizing there was no hope for a comeback against the Cleveland Browns. Parsons gave the Bengals his respect for making that call.
“‘Hey, we’re going to submit, we’re going to take our loss and we’re going to move on to next week and get better,’” Parsons said of protecting Burrow. “That’s the best thing you can do.”
“I do not agree with Daniel Jones staying out there until that last drive. I thought that was wrong, I thought it was deceiving,” Parsons continued on to say. “That’s your franchise quarterback and he’s out there with a backup offensive line still getting sacked and hit. I just didn’t understand. Maybe it was a you know, prove-it moment by the Giants, I have no idea. A learning lesson, who knows? But I thought Daniel Jones should’ve got pulled out, so technically it’s not benched.”
Whether you agree with the man or not, at the end of the day, Parsons was looking out for a fellow football player. That is sportsmanship personified.
