While scouting the Eagles offense, Micah Parsons identifies where the Cowboys need to improve.
The Dallas Cowboys failed to make the playoffs this season, which was a tough pill to swallow. Adding insult to injury, they now have to watch along with the rest of us as the Philadelphia Eagles appear in the Super Bowl for the second time in three years.
Philly lost to the Kansas City Chiefs in 2022 but gets a re-match this year after knocking off another NFC East rival, the Washington Commanders, in the NFC Championship Game.
Heading into this showdown, the feeling surrounding the Eagles is far more optimistic. They’re one of the more complete teams in the NFL and they just dropped 55 points on Washington to get into the Super Bowl.
Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley / Eric Hartline-Imagn Images
They were led by Saquon Barkley, who has 442 yards and five touchdowns on the ground in the postseason. According to Parsons, the explosion he offeres is what makes them so dangerous.
“It just made them more explosive,” Parsons said via Doug Farrar of Athlon Sports. “They had Pro Bowl-level running backs over the past couple years with D’Andre Swift and Miles Sanders. But then when you add that Saquon Effect, that ability to go the long distances —not getting caught, not being stopped at the one-yard line or the 15-yard line, but that breakout speed ability that not many people in this league have besides [Detroit Lions running back Jahmyr] Gibbs and maybe one or two other backs. Not many people can break away from NFL pursuit angles and things like that. He has definitely made them far more explosive and dynamic in that aspect.”
Parsons went on to say they no longer have to lean solely on the quarterback to win. Instead, they can ride the ground game to success.
“And that just shows you they went from, ‘We have to win with Jalen,’ to ‘Now, we can win with Saquon.’ And that just made them so much better.”
In breaking down the Eagles’ offense ahead of Super Bowl LIX, Parsons also identified where the Cowboys need to improve to have success in 2025.
Dallas Cowboys running back Rico Dowdle / Eric Hartline-Imagn Images
Dallas neglected their run game last year, expecting Ezekiel Elliott to carry the load. Their offense sputtered, only showing signs of life when Rico Dowdle took over and got into a rhythm.
The good news is that Parsons isn’t alone in this thought. The Cowboys have shown a shift in their philosophy based on their coaching hires.
Now, they just need to re-sign Dowdle while capitalizing on a draft class loaded at running back. That could be enough to push the offense forward.