Cowboys game ball: Micah Parsons about the only player who really showed up for Dallas

Lost in all the concern and curiosity about what happened to the Dallas Cowboys offense in their game against the Kansas City Chiefs is the fact that their defense actually held together pretty well. They limited Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs to just 19 points on the day. Normally, that would be plenty for the Cowboys high-powered offense to win the game. Not on Sunday.

The Cowboys offense was a shambles and no one on that side of the ball is in contention for the game ball. The most explosive player on that side of the ball was probably Tony Pollard, but he only received limited touches. Dalton Schultz led the team in catches and receiving yards, but some of that was late in the game. In general, nothing went right on that side of the ball.

On special teams, Greg Zuelrein did go three for three on field goals, but some of his kickoffs didn’t force touchbacks and led to big returns. Bryan Anger was steady again at punter.

It’s on the defensive side of the ball where the Cowboys had one bright spot in the game. And once again, it was Micah Parsons. Much like he tried to keep the Cowboys in the Broncos game, he did the same here with two sacks, a forced fumble, three QB hits while also drawing a holding penalty on Kansas City. He was constantly in the backfield and represented the Cowboys most dangerous player on the field.

Parsons played at defensive end in the game much like he did versus the Chargers and was hard to block. It once again raises the question of where to play him. Is he a linebacker who occasionally rushes, or is he a pass rushing defensive end? There is no more coveted a player on defense, besides maybe a lockdown corner, than a pass-rushing defensive end. You can certainly make a case for either linebacker or defensive end for Parsons.

Outside of Parsons, some guys made plays, just not consistently. Jayron Kearse managed to get an interception. Dorance Armstrong added another sack. Keanu Neal led the team in tackles with seven.

In the end, it was a poor team-wide effort by the Cowboys, except for the defense making some key stops as the game moved along, and the outstanding play of Micah Parsons.