Micah Parsons didn’t waste any time taking a victory lap after Packers win over the Bears. Speaking to reporters, he shared what he says he told Caleb Williams between snaps: “You’re not running around me. You can outrun everyone around the NFL, but not me. And I held to that the whole game. He did not beat me to the edge one time.”
It’s a great soundbite. It’s also not true.
Let’s be clear: Parsons is a problem. He was the best defensive player on the field, again. He finished with seven pressures, two quarterback hits, and his presence alone forced Chicago to change protections/adapt. His explosiveness to the edge creates chaos before a play even develops. There’s a reason he’s a Defensive Player of the Year candidate every single season.
But he didn’t shut down Caleb Williams biggest strength — his ability to escape, improvise, and make defenders look human. On film, Williams did win the edge multiple times, including two escapes that left Parsons diving at air. One came on a third-and-long rollout where Williams outran Parsons to the corner and extended the play. Another came on a keeper where Parsons took a wide angle and Williams beat him to the marker.
Parsons can talk his talk — he earned that by winning the game. But the idea that Caleb never beat him outside is a flex built on fiction.
If anything, Sunday showed again that Caleb is 1-of-1 when it comes to sack avoidance. He’s already one of the most elusive quarterbacks in the league — even against the NFL’s most lethal edge rusher.
