Micah Parsons finds out how the other half lives, puts focus on getting Cowboys back to winning

Micah Parsons had never seen anything close to a losing record with the Dallas Cowboys, or at Penn State, and didn't have any reason to believe his fourth NFL season would be different.

Even after a stunning and gutting blowout loss to Green Bay at home in a wild-card playoff game last season, the star edge rusher figured it would be regroup, reboot and run it back.

Then the Cowboys got blown out at home by New Orleans and Detroit early when they were mostly healthy. Then he and fellow rusher DeMarcus Lawrence went down with injuries, followed by quarterback Dak Prescott.

From there, three players with All-Pro pedigrees eventually ended up on season-ending injured reserve, and the reality of that first losing record for Parsons hit hard in a 41-7 blowout loss to NFC East champion Philadelphia on Sunday.

The Cowboys (7-9) finish the season Sunday at home against the division's other playoff team, Washington. The Commanders are coached by Dan Quinn, the former Dallas defensive coordinator who helped shape Parsons into one of the NFL's most dynamic defenders.

“Definitely not what I envisioned, definitely not what I hoped for,” said Parsons, who missed four games with a high ankle sprain while Lawrence never returned from a foot injury sustained in the same game, a Week 4 win at the New York Giants. “Coming off a devastating playoff loss and you say, ’Hey, I’m just going to get the same team back and we kind of know what it’s going to look like, what the team’s going to be like.'

“But you say there’s other teams who are fully healthy and they’re not where we’re at right now,” Parsons said. “I’m going to take that as a grain of salt and use that as motivation to go toward next year.”

There was uncertainty over coach Mike McCarthy's future after the 48-32 loss to the Packers last January. Now, the uncertainty revolves around his expiring contract.

Executive vice president of personnel Stephen Jones said Monday the Cowboys wouldn't address that question until after the game against the Commanders.

Defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer, the former Minnesota head coach who replaced Quinn, came in on a one-year contract, so his future is up in the air as well.

A defense that seemed to struggle to adjust to his scheme early in the season was better late, and Parsons spoke highly as the season progressed of a man who spent a decade on the Dallas staff in the 1990s and 2000s.

McCarthy has deflected questions about his future all season. That probably won't change this week.

“I mean, that’s in eight days, you know,” McCarthy said when asked to reflect on just a fifth losing record in 18 seasons in Dallas and Green Bay, where he won the Super Bowl to cap the 2010 season. “I’m here to finish the race. That’s my mindset and that’s the team’s mindset.”

What's working

While a three-year run of 12-5 playoff seasons is over, losing records have been rare for the Cowboys. They haven't had consecutive losing seasons since going 5-11 three straight years from 2000-02 under coach Dave Campo. This is Dallas' fifth losing record since then.

What needs help

Depth in the secondary has been exposed with the late-season injuries to Diggs and others. The Cowboys will have to rebuild that group in the offseason.

Stock up

Rico Dowdle became the first undrafted running back in franchise history to reach 1,000 yards rushing. He had 104 against the Eagles to put him at 1,007. The first four 100-yard games of his career have come in the past five weeks.

Stock down

Cooper Rush is showing a pattern as the replacement for Prescott. While his overall record filling in for Prescott is a solid 9-5, he's now 0-3 against Philadelphia. Five of his eight interceptions in his starts have come against the Eagles, all of them in two road games.

Injuries

OL T.J. Bass is the biggest lingering question with a thigh issue that has kept him out the past two games. He's a backup guard as long as rookie C Cooper Beebe and RG Brock Hoffman, Martin's replacement, are healthy.

Key number

9 1/2 — That's where Parsons sits in sacks this season. He had at least 10 in each of his first three seasons.

Next steps

Even with a loss, a top-10 pick in April's draft appears unlikely for the Cowboys. Something in the teens is most likely, slightly lower than where they were when getting Parsons in 2021, and slightly higher than their spot when CeeDee Lamb fell to them in 2020.

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Schuyler Dixon, The Associated Press