FRISCO - Micah Parsons has never shied away from having an opinion ... some would argue, sometimes to the detriment of his Dallas Cowboys.
It's Christmas Week, and Dallas - out of the playoffs but still winners of four of the last five games - is feeling pretty good about itself. Next up? A Sunday trip to Philadelphia, where star QB Jalen Hurts is in concussion protocol and may not play against 7-8 Dallas.
Conventional NFL wisdom would have Micah, on the eve of a game against the Eagles, saying lovely things about the Eagles.
He is not doing that, most notably with his fun "F Philly'' rant.
Conventional wisdom would also follow that if he was going to strategically heap praise on a quarterback - say, on his podcast in a conversation he conjured up himself - he would do so in favor of the QB he is about to play.
But again ... Micah is not conventional in this regard. back-to-back games heading into Christmas.
The last time the Cowboys lost? That was of course to the Cincinnati Bengals on Dec. 9. They fell to Cincinnati, 27-20, at AT&T Stadium. in a game marred by a last-minute punt muff that cost Dallas a chance to win.
Parsons has now taken time to reflect on the loss to the Bengals, and during his podcast - "The Edge with Micah Parsons'' - offered some controversial praise to Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow.
"This version of Joe Burrow is the best quarterback in the NFL," Parsons said of the QB, who led Cincinnati with three touchdowns and 369 yards in that win over the Cowboys. "This healthy Joe Burrow, the anticipation, his IQ. ... If you talk about who's playing the best quarterback football right now, 'Joe Shiesty.' He's the best quarterback in the NFL."
By the way: Micah said this before Cincinnati‘s spectacular Saturday night overtime win over Denver. The argument is even stronger now and Micah just made that point on social media….
“Best in the world!” He wrote as Burrow threw for 437 yards and four TDs.
There are good arguments to be made for Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson and others, including Patrick Mahomes. There might be wisdom in Micah mentioning teammate Dak Prescott. And Hurts has quite a resume as well. Burrow? So far this season, Burrow has 39 passing touchdowns, 4,229 yards and a 68.9 completion percentage.
He's No. 1 in the NFL in passing touchdowns and passing yards ... all on a mediocre team.
If Cincinnati was better than 7-8, Micah's take wouldn't be so eyebrow-raising. But it's Parsons' opinion. And in that area, he never holds back.