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In Week 1 of the 2026 season, the Green Bay Packers got out to a 22-10 lead against the Carson Wentz-led Minnesota Vikings… and then allowed 29 unanswered points in a 39-22 loss.
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It’s fairly safe to say that when Micah Parsons returns to the field following the torn ACL he suffered last December 14, these kinds of things won’t happen.
2025 was Parsons’ first season with the Packers after the blockbuster trade with the Dallas Cowboys, and when Parsons was on the field, Green Bay’s defense was an entirely different animal.
Per Sumer Sports:
With Parsons on the field (669 snaps):
- 4.87 yards allowed per play, EPA/play allowed: -0.048 (favorable for the defense)
- Pass defense: 367 attempts, 6.29 yards per attempt allowed
- Run defense: 273 attempts, 4.13 yards per carry allowed
- 29 sacks, 6 interceptions
- 21 offensive touchdowns allowed
- Opposing offense success rate: 43.9%
Without Parsons on the field (469 snaps):
- 5.31 yards allowed per play, EPA/play allowed: +0.09 (unfavorable for the defense)
- Pass defense: 230 attempts, 6.82 yards per attempt allowed
- Run defense: 231 attempts, 4.18 yards per carry allowed
- 8 sacks, 3 interceptions
- 21 offensive touchdowns allowed
- Opposing offense success rate: 47.1%
It’s estimated that Parsons will be ready to play again by the Packers’ Week 6 matchup against those Cowboys, and in the interim, he’s partnered with Tide to help promote how Tide tackles stains and odors in one wash, so you can spend more time watching football, and less time on laundry.
For now, Parsons is working hard at the Packers’ facility, and working hard at home to clean up all of life’s little messes. He spoke with Athlon Sports about all of this, and several other things.
Doug Farrar: Micah, you’re kind of a stay-at-home dad right now, with three kids under three years old, so laundry is a big deal. You’ve been doing your own laundry since age six. So tell me about your involvement with Tide, and why Tide is so important to you.
Micah Parsons: You know, Tide is so important to me because they understand the struggle it can be for a young parent. It allows me just to be the best dad and the best parent I can be. And I enjoy so much not to be so worried about what my kids are doing, but how we can enjoy it together. You know, whether it’s playing with paint, chalk, I mean, gooey stuff, who knows? I don’t know how or what the kids get into, spaghetti sauce, playing outside, coming in with the kids, football, soccer. It just allowed us to stay free, no matter what we’re doing. We’re enjoying the moments, we’re attacking the days, and we’re just enjoying life together. It’s a beautiful thing when you can live life that way. And I’m just so thankful for this partnership.
DF: Well, let’s talk about attacking the days. The off-season regimen this year was a little different for you. Are there things you’re working on that you just want to develop as a player? Maybe things you’re working on and looking forward to learning that might make you better as a player? As you go on in your career, are there things you’re still working to develop, as good as you already are?
MP: You know, I think there’s always something in ourselves that we can get better at. You know, I think for me this [past] year, it was becoming a better leader, taking this approach that I’ve been away from football and being a mentor, being a big brother, being a veteran teammate who’s been in this league and had a lot of success. I think being a great football player is being complete in all phases, leadership on the field, off the field.
I think I took big strides in that. And I want to continue taking strides in that and being the guy [other] guys can come to, being as coachable as I can be for [other] players and to myself under my own coaching. I would say just that right there.
Obviously there’s things on the field I wish I was better at, but in the mindset of me, I just attack every day with a passion of like, I’m going to play football again and I’m going to be better than I was before. And the only thing that I can do that is just work as hard as I can every day, get stronger and try to perfect what I do. And so far with that approach and that mindset, I’ve been getting so much better and preparing to take that next step.
DF: Talking about that leadership, obviously a tough loss for the Packers in Week 1. How much are you in the building, and how much do you get a vibe from just how things are going in the building? And have you talked to your teammates about how that all went?
MP: I mean, I’m still in the building right now. I’m probably in the building more than anyone on the team, because doing more is required. You know, the vibes are good. I see Jordan Love, and I see my young guys, and [they’re] telling me about their mistakes and asking me what I saw.
And I say, let’s not overthink this. It’s one game. Obviously, you hate to lose that one game, but it’s not the end of the year, and we can keep fighting. We can keep scratching and clawing our way back, and just get better.
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Losses are lessons. And that was another thing, you know, with the [Tide] partnership is, every time there’s a mess, whether it’s on the field, everything can be fixed up and cleaned up. You know what I mean? There doesn’t have to be a reason to stay the way it is. We can clean up what we have to clean up, and get better from it. And be like it never happened. So as long as we have that mentality, we can go very far.
DF: I want to get a little nerdy with you just on your techniques. Obviously love watching you play ball. And the stunts with you and [defensive tackle] Devonte Wyatt last year, wow. Just how he’s developed as a player, and how you guys get those games together — it’s just wicked. It’s so good to watch.
MP: Yeah, Heavy D’s my boy. I probably run the games best with him because like I tell him… you know how some people [are] like, “Hey, this [stunt] is going to hit. I just need you to be patient.” Heavy D is someone that’s patient. I’m like, “Yo, I’m going to get you home if you just listen to me. Like I’m telling you it’s going to hit.” And I think he appreciates that.
And he told me, when he did his contract to stay here, he’s like, “Bro, I just wanted to be next to you for another couple of years. And I’m excited to keep playing with you.”
I’m like, “Bro, that means so much to me. I’m so excited to be here with you too.” I think that’s special, a special relationship we have that translates onto the field, and makes it even better.
DF:I was talking with Zach Allen of the Broncos last week about his pass rush moves. And he mentioned that a lot of pass rushing is what he called “Playing basketball on grass.” He said he studies ball-handlers in basketball like Kyrie Irving, and how they will jab and feint. Do you ever think about like that? Do you ever study guys from other sports and kind of how that basketball on grass thing might work?
MP: No, that’s not… I mean, he’s developed that from BT [Brandon] Jordan, who’s a pass rush coach. But I would say the difference is, why football is not basketball on grass, basketball players keep their hands down to dribble. We’ve got to keep our hands up. I look at pass rushing like boxing. Boxing is more articulate, and very precise. Your hands have to be precise. Your reaction time has to be precise. And it’s the only [other] sport where your hands and feet have to work together consistently, which is like football. When you’re pass-rushing, your hands and feet have to stay active the whole time.
And you know, boxing is like a chess match. It’s the same thing as football and pass rushing, right? You know, I might sacrifice a move here and here, like my pawns to gain greater later, greater leverage. It might look like a sacrifice to you, but I’m gaining my moment to trap you and to allow me to get exactly what I want done on the board. So it all correlates to being better that way.
You know, basketball, I guess you can look at it like the Euro-steps and things like that, but those moves don’t have the highest success rates in the league.
DF: I was thinking of watching you line up about a yard off the ball and you would go between the A-gaps, to either of the center’s shoulders, and then just come in where you’re almost reading gaps like a running back. And then, I was thinking about your inside counters where you cross the guy’s face so quickly, he can’t get his hands up [to block you]. How do you develop that? It’s almost a lateral agility you expect from a running back.
MP: Well, I used to be a running back. That’s the thing. High school, yeah.
DF: Well, it shows.
MP: It’s funny, my college coach saw that I was a running back, and I was a defensive end at first. He was like, “Hey, you used to be a running back. You’re kind of undersized. Let’s put you at linebacker because you understand that aspect.” And that’s kind of how I became a pressure player from off the ball. But I think that’s just development in my footwork that I put in at the time with my guy, Lance Deane.
DF: Final question. Obviously, Micah Parsons being at full strength will help, but what do the Packers need to do to win the Super Bowl this year? How does it all come together?
MP: We just need to get healthy. I think once we get healthy, and I’m back on that grass or that turf, we’re going to take it to another level.
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This story was originally published September 16, 2026 at 4:45 AM.