Beating the Giants has Micah Parsons and the Cowboys quite confident.
The Cowboys’ star made a bold statement after the 27-20 win over the Giants on Thanksgiving that kept Dallas’ (5-7) faint playoff hopes alive.
Parsons had 1.5 sacks, one tackle for loss and four quarterback hits to earn “Madden Thanksgiving MVP” honors after Dallas’ second straight win.
“There’s been a lot of trash talk out there, talking about what difference can we make. We still got some guys coming back from the chamber,” Parsons said during the postgame on-field interview with Fox’s Erin Andrews. “I’m telling you all right now, we’re coming.”
The Cowboys’ season is still on life support even after back-to-back division wins over the Cowboys and Giants, but they at least have a shot.
NFL.com projected Dallas would have a six percent chance of making the playoffs should it beat the Giants.
The NFC’s fifth and sixth seeds seem destined to go to the NFC North’s No. 2 and No. 3 teams — currently the Vikings and Packers — and the seventh seed is up for grabs.
The Commanders — whom Dallas holds the tiebreaker over thanks to a Week 12 win — occupy the final Wild Card spot with their 7-5 record.
The two teams will meet in Week 18 in Dallas.
Parsons previously said he would not allow the Cowboys to tank, and these two wins have ensured Dallas’ season still has meaning entering December.
“To be honest, it’s really been, ‘Why not us?’ Everybody counted us out. It was just like, enough’s enough. We know what we got, we know what we can do here and I believe in everyone of these guys here. I believe we’re going to turn it around and make a run.”
Parsons has helped the Cowboys right the ship for the time being after they dropped five straight games and seemingly play their way out of the playoff picture.
The former Penn State star now has 3.5 sacks over the last two games, and 5.5 in his four games since returning from a high-ankle sprain he suffered vs. the Giants in September.
Said Parsons: “As soon as I was able to get at least 90 percent, it was about just fighting through it, getting back on the field because I know I can help out here.”