Micah Parsons isn’t finished railing against NFL officiating.
On Sunday, the Dallas Cowboys fell to the Miami Dolphins, 22-20, with a 29-yard Jason Sanders field goal as time expired sealing the Dolphins’ win and erasing the Cowboys’ fourth-quarter comeback.
‘It’s mind-blowing, the things that are getting called, the positions we get put in,’ Parsons said after the game of the officiating. ‘We just gotta learn to fight the adversity and know a lot of it is BS. It’s football plays, but it’s the world we live in. We got the star on the helmet.’
Parsons’ frustrations boiled over in the second quarter after he was flagged for a roughing the passer penalty. On a second-and-1 play from the Cowboys’ 9-yard line, the pass rusher leveled Tua Tagovailoa shortly after the Dolphins quarterback threw a pass intended for Cedrick Wilson that fell incomplete. An official threw a flag, and Parsons was caught on microphone giving an explicit reaction to the call. The star pass rusher was then pulled away from the official by teammate DeMarcus Lawrence.
Tagovailoa found running back Raheem Mostert for a 4-yard touchdown pass on the next play to give the Dolphins their only touchdown of the game and a 13-7 lead going into halftime.
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‘(The official) said my intent was to punish the quarterback,’ Parsons said. ‘But how am I trying to punish him if I’m just trying to sack him? It’s not like it’s a late hit, I didn’t leave my feet. I didn’t lead with my head. I don’t know how you make that call.
‘I got there so quick. How was I supposed to know he got the ball out? It was within a second. I didn’t leave my feet. I didn’t lead with my head, so I don’t know what a roughing the passer is anymore. In reality, I ran into (Lawrence). We both met at the quarterback. Like I said, it’s just hard to play defense.’
Said Lawrence: ‘We had to play against the opposing team, the refs and the hostile environment. We have everything working against us. But we have to come together as a brotherhood and get the win.’
Parsons’ comments are the latest in his series of pointed criticisms of NFL officiating. Earlier this month, he said officials ‘don’t care’ and need to be held accountable for errors. The two-time Pro Bowl selection also referred to the lack of holding calls – Parsons has drawn just two all season, and none since an Oct. 16 game against the Los Angeles Chargers – as ‘comical.’
Several notable figures have decried the quality of NFL officiating this season, including Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes and coach Andy Reid, as well as Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett. All three drew fines from the league for their remarks.
‘We understand,’ Goodell said. ‘That’s not new. We get that. And it’s frustrating. You know how hard the players are playing, you know how hard the coaches are coaching. We know how much the fans put in with passion. So, we want to get it right.’