Micah Parsons 'not into the flopping business' to try to sell holding calls

You know the NFL football adage — there’s holding on every play. Still, Cowboys star Micah Parsons can’t get the officials to see what he says is happening to him on down after down.

And he refuses to add more dramatics to get the officials’ attention. “I’m not into the flopping business,” he told reporters.

“It’s frustrating,” Parsons said this week. “I kind of wish people saw it the way I do. I kinda tell the ref, ‘If you just look at me the whole time, you don’t even have to look anywhere else, it’s right there in front of you.’

He added: “I’m not into dramatics, man. I just want to kill this guy, whether he got to hold me, whether you’re going to see it. There’s going to be another play. There’s going to be another opportunity. You’ve just got to know when to take it. I’m not going to learn how to be like these basketball players and quarterbacks where I just flail to the ground because some guy is holding me. Then, I can miss the sack because I’m flailing to the ground.”

Because fans will be fans, the most enterprising ones cut video to show these allegedly missed holding calls, then posted the clips on social media. After the Cowboys smacked Washington, 45-10, on Thanksgiving, the videos quickly spread on Cowboys Twitter. And since Parsons is an active participant on X (formerly Twitter), he noticed the videos. Then he mentioned his frustration to the media.

Below is but one example that kicked around the Cowboys corner of social media.

Micah Parsons would probably have at least 5 more sacks by now if this BS didn’t happen every single week and go uncalled.

It’s so blatant and visible, half the time it’s literally players holding him from behind like this.

The refs are straight 🗑️
pic.twitter.com/XkaFZehc9f

— Outl✭w (@OutlawCowboyNFL) November 26, 2023

Report: Officials might have missed 5 penalties on Parsons during Cowboys-Commanders game

Let’s go to the Dallas Morning News. At least one of the beat writers went through the Cowboys-Commanders game video to see if Parsons exaggerated the lack of calls. According to the DMN, he did not. Officials didn’t flag a single Washington lineman assigned to block the Cowboys pass rusher. Yet the Morning News said that by a conservative estimate, there were at least four holding infractions and a possible illegal hands to the face.

According to the DMN, Parsons has drawn only two holding calls this season and none during the past five games. Who is the Cowboys defense lineman held the most (according to the officials)? That’s defensive tackle Osa Odighizuwa, who has drawn four holding penalties. Defensive end Dante Fowler is second on the Cowboys with three.

“It kinda gets me on the emotion side because I’m competing, and I’m daring to be great,” Parsons said. “And I’m challenging these guys, and I know I’m getting the best of them and it may not show up the way I want it to show up. That definitely bothers me and I’m working on it. Playing it cool, not letting it get the best of me, I think that’s been the difference between this year and last year.”

But there is terrific news for Parsons, the undisputed Cowboys star. According to the oddsmakers, he’s in the hunt for NFL Defensive Player of the Year honors. Cleveland Browns standout Myles Garrett is the favorite. But Parsons with his 11.5 sacks owns the second-best odds of any defender. You can check the odds here.