The Pittsburgh Steelers don’t have to worry about Micah Parsons or DeMarcus Lawrence facing the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday night. But will that cripple Dallas’ defense, or will they find ways around it? Mike Zimmer is one of the more creative defensive coordinators in the league and has an extensive history in the AFC North. In other words, he knows a thing or two about pressuring the Steelers.
“You really can’t replace them”, CB Jourdan Lewis admitted about Parsons and Lawrence via Teresa Varley for the Steelers’ website. “They’re the motor of our defense. We just have to find ways to attack offenses without those guys, unfortunately”.
Micah Parsons and DeMarcus Lawrence are to the Cowboys what T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith are to the Steelers. That’s the easiest way to frame it, though Dallas has never had to worry about playing without Parsons. The only game he hadn’t previously played was the 2021 finale when they had the division locked up.
The Cowboys dominated that game without Parsons, but that’s because the offense scored 51. I think every Steelers fan knows their terrible record without Watt. Against a good team like Pittsburgh, can Dallas escape with a win even without Parsons? The absence of Lawrence as well only exacerbates the issue.
“This is what this league’s all about”, Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy said. He was referring to the attrition of injuries, in this case, Parsons and Lawrence. “It takes a lot of players to win in this league week in and week out. So, it creates a great opportunity for others, and that’s really our approach”.
Other Cowboys gave the expected answers about the next man up and all that, which every team must repeat. The Steelers do that more than anybody, and they are still dealing with that with Alex Highsmith out. With Micah Parsons and DeMarcus Lawrence, there are three stud rushers out during this game.
Parsons only had one sack through the first four games, with 14 tackles and two for loss. Lawrence led the team with three sacks, 14 tackles, four for loss, and a forced fumble. They are obviously big losses for the Cowboys’ defense, but you are always better with your best players.
The Steelers’ tackles, I’m sure, will appreciate not having to face Micah Parsons especially. He is a perennial contender for the Defensive Player of the Year Award, with 41.5 sacks in 54 career games. That’s not quite T.J. Watt’s pace, but it certainly isn’t bad.
