Few defensive players have the ability to impact a game quite like Dallas Cowboys pass rusher Micah Parsons.

As the Seattle Seahawks found out in their Week 13 loss to the Cowboys, on a pivotal fourth down with the game on the line, Parsons can alter the outcome on a single play.

Through the first 14 games of the season, Parsons is on track to set a new career high in sacks, already tallying 12.5. Pro Football Focus credits Parsons with 89 total pressures en route to an elite 92.4 overall grade and 93.8 pass-rush mark.

While Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott has consistently been listed among the top MVP candidates across the league, ESPN suggests Parsons is an “under the radar” candidate to steal the award.

“Parsons has a 36.7% pass rush win rate,” ESPN’s Courtney Cronin wrote in a story published December 20. “Blowing by the previous record (since 2017) held by Joey Bosa in 2017 at 33.7%. Parsons also has 61 pressures and might break his own record (also since 2017) of 74 pressures in a season. Even though the box score numbers aren’t quite there (12.5 sacks, 1 forced fumble), we can’t sleep on how incredible Parsons has been on a down-to-down basis.”

Despite the fact that Parsons is in the midst of a historic season when it comes to pressuring the quarterback, the 24-year-old faces long odds to win the MVP award.

Not only are running backs Adrian Peterson, Sean Alexander, LaDanian Tomlinson and Marshall Faulk the only non-quarterbacks to win the award since the turn of the century, but a defender hasn’t been named MVP since Lawrence Taylor took home the award in 1986. Nevertheless, Parsons likely has the best chance of any defensive player to break the 37-year drought.

Dolphins Head Coach Mike McDaniel Has High Praise For Cowboys’ Micah Parsons
Parsons has a fan in Miami Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel, who’s tasked with attempting to neutralize Parsons in Week 16.

“He is one of the best players in the National Football League at any position. And it’s — yeah, I don’t think it’s really debatable,” McDaniel told reporters on December 20. “This dude is different. And the orchestration that he has with his teammates, the stuff that coach [Dan] Quinn does with the multiplicity of his alignments, and you can tell that not only is he unique in skillset, but you don’t play all the way across the line, and in the stack, and do all the thing sth the does without having a true love for the game.”

Part of what makes Parsons a matchup nightmare for opposing offenses is his ability to be disruptive regardless of where he lines up.

“He’s more fun to watch when you’re not going to play him,” McDaniel added. “But that being said, I like the challenge of facing elite players, like our players do. And it’s really cool to watch because you combine talent with strength. That’s rarefied air, in general, with the level of talent and the level of strength that he exhibits. He is a real dude, for sure.”

Cowboys CB Stephon Gilmore’s Dolphins Scouting Report
The Cowboys’ effort to retaining their edge over the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC East race starts with shutting down the Dolphins’ explosive offense.

Even though receivers Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle are two of the more prolific wide receivers in the league, Dallas’ chances of pulling off a Christmas Eve victory starts by winning up front, according to Cowboys cornerback Stephon Gilmore.

“Just play with great technique, trust your teammates, and be physical,” Gilmore told reporters on December 21. “That’s really what it come down to, winning the line of scrimmage and playing physical.

“I think if we take care of that, we’ll take care of the game.”

The Cowboys and Dolphins kickoff at 4:25 p.m. Eastern time on December 24.