Micah Parsons wasn’t Aaron Rodgers’ teammate in Green Bay. Therefore, he is focusing on handling Rodgers as a quarterback, not the media storyline of Rodgers facing his Packers team for the first time. Speaking to reporters, Parsons outlined his plan to make the meeting far less storybook than Rodgers would like.
“We just gotta make a challenge and confuse it and just get after them,” Parsons said Thursday via the team’s YouTube channel. “It is gonna be a tough matchup, but you always get excited for those when you’re playing GOATs like that.”
Parsons and Rodgers have only squared off once in their careers. It was in a 2022 matchup at Lambeau that the Packers won 31-28 in overtime. Rodgers was the catalyst, throwing for three touchdowns and leading a 28-14 fourth-quarter comeback. He was sacked twice but not by Parsons, who finished with seven combined tackles and zero quarterback hits.
Rodgers is known for using his football IQ to win. Not just post-snap, but pre-snap. He possesses a potent cadence that can tip blitzes, schemes, and bait defensive linemen into jumping offsides. His cadence is so unique that, this offseason, Pittsburgh’s own linemen were given audio recordings to get used to it. Parsons isn’t concerned.
“I’m not worried at all,” Parsons said. “I don’t go to bed thinking about that cadence shit.”
Parsons admitted he’s prone to jumping offside. In 2024, he was called for an offside or a neutral zone infraction a whopping eight times. In 2025, it has already occurred five times. Those calls have occurred both at home and on the road. This week, Rodgers has the advantage at home, where a quiet home crowd makes a hard count more effective against the defense. But Parsons said his errors stem from being unfocused due to fatigue or trying to do too much, not quarterbacks playing head games with him.
Parsons knows the key to success is to throw the timely Rodgers off his rhythm.
“I would say don’t let Rodgers get to his spot,” he said. “I would say when he’s in sync, it’s like poetry. Every throw’s on the money, everything’s in sync. You have to find ways to disrupt the tendencies, disrupt the spot, disrupt the way where he twists. If he can’t throw off his foot the right way, those types of little things.”
Parsons has plenty of respect for Rodgers and shared it throughout his meeting with reporters. When the ball is kicked off Sunday night, none of that matters. Parsons’ job, one he has done so well, is to make Rodgers’ night miserable. Pittsburgh can’t let that happen, or else Rodgers will walk away from his likely only game against Green Bay with a loss.
