The Packers lost to the Eagles on Monday Night Football this week, 10-7, in what was quite an ugly nationally-televised affair. It was a bad enough loss that Tuesday has brought about plenty of doubts regarding Green Bay’s position as a contender in the NFC and even questions about coach Matt LaFleur’s job status. It’s also led to plenty of sports TV segments examining the flaws of the Packers, and Colin Cowherd did so by taking aim at Micah Parsons.
On Tuesday’s episode of his show, The Herd, Cowherd discussed Parsons failing to record a sack or QB hit in each of the last two games. He presented this as proof that all the hype surrounding Parsons was overdone and the All-Pro pass-rusher is simply a “splash” player who isn’t as good as his reputation suggests. Cowherd also repeated a common criticism of Parsons’s game—that he struggles to defend the run to a degree that it offsets his effectiveness as a sack artist.
"Micah's rep has always been: he is a splash player. A remarkable, athletic splash player. He's not good against the run."@colincowherd isn't surprised at Micah Parsons' recent lack of impact pic.twitter.com/uPeUgZEswe
— Herd w/Colin Cowherd (@TheHerd) November 11, 2025
Parsons saw the clip and didn’t hesitate to fire back at what he considered to be a “trash” take from the Fox Sports personality.
“We just held Saquon Barkley to 60 rushing yards, and our only losses have been holding teams to 13 points!” Parsons wrote on X with several laughing emojis. “Man, sometimes can y’all?Please stfu and enjoy great defense! Why do you think teams come into the games that were going to run the ball on 3rd and long? What effect do you think that is? Please stop giving people’s mics or listening to trash!”
It’s a fair rebuttal from the Packers star. In the three games Green Bay has lost in the 2025 NFL season, the Panthers scored the most points in a 16-13 victory. The other two defeats the Packers’ opponents scored 13 and 10 points, respectively. Barkley couldn’t get anything going on the ground Monday night and the team as a whole managed only 111 yards rushing, although his 41-yard catch in the fourth quarter set up the only Philly touchdown of the evening. Given those facts it’s fair to say the Packers’ losses this year have been mostly the result of offensive ineptitude rather than a leaky defense. It should be noted, though, that they gave up 40 to the Cowboys in a tie as well.
To give further credence to Parsons’s point, the Packers rank sixth in the NFL in rushing yards allowed per game. In regards to Parsons specifically, he’s the NFL’s top pass rusher by PFF metrics but ranked 24th in run defense among all EDGE players. However, his run defense grade is still considered “good” by those metrics. On the year, he has 22 tackles and 6.5 sacks.
Parsons has an opportunity to fire back at Cowherd on the field this week with a matchup against the Giants next on the schedule.
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