Micah Parsons was the best player on the field for the Cowboys in Week 1 win

The Dallas Cowboys defense had a plethora of standout performances on Sunday night’s win against the New York Giants. In a dominant 40-0 win, the team bottled up the Giants, never allowing them to gain any momentum on the offensive side of the ball. Giants QB Daniel Jones only threw for 102 passing yards all game, as he was constantly under duress by the Dallas pass rush. Dan Quinn’s defense registered seven sacks, never allowing Jones to feel comfortable in the pocket.

Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy praised the pass rush, calling it one of the best he’d ever seen in his coaching career.

“Statistically, it’s the best one, personally, I’ve ever been a part of. The numbers showed our defensive pass rush, as far as pass attempts, 75 percent of the attempts were under pressure. That’s a huge win in that area. That’s the highest one I’ve ever been a part of. It was obviously a big part of setting the tempo. You could see this building the last three years and definitely felt it all throughout training camp.”

Several players got into the sack column for the Cowboys. DT Osa Odighizuwa and DE Dorance Armstrong led the team with two sacks each. DE Micah Parsons, DL Chauncey Golston, and DE DeMarcus Lawrence all registered one sack as well.

While Parsons may have not led the team in sacks on Sunday, he remained the most impactful player on the field for the Cowboys. Parsons commanded the Giants attention from the opening snap, requiring constant double-teams from New York’s offensive line.

Many sports fans believe that Parsons is due to win his first Defensive Player of the Year award this season, after being the runner-up each of his first two seasons in the league. Parsons currently is the betting favorite to secure the award. While it would be great for Parsons to win this award when the season concludes, in reality he does not need to win the award to be seen as the best player on defense in the NFL. His impact in making players around him better might not show up in the stat sheet in a way that sacks do, but it will make a huge impact in the win-column.

The Cowboys are in for a special season. Fans should be ecstatic about what they saw from the defense on Sunday night. The defense will continue to be dominant over the course of the season because they have the best defensive player in football.