If there were any concerns that the Green Bay Packers gave up too much to acquire Micah Parsons and sign him to a massive extension, the star defender has quickly eliminated those worries. Through three games, Parsons has been everything Green Bay hoped he would be, and he has done that while playing limited snaps. Still, his fingerprints are all over the Packers’ 2-1 record.

Washington Commanders v Green Bay Packers | Cooper Neill/GettyImages

Anyone who has watched the games doesn’t need stats to justify Parsons’ impact, and people who make judgments solely off box scores may be quick to criticize the edge defender for only having one sack.

However, a closer look at the stats shows just how much he has shown up for Green Bay.

Micah Parsons’ impact on Packers’ defense goes beyond the box score

According to Next Gen Stats (h/t Jacob Morley of Packer Report), through three games, Parsons already has two games with at least eight pressures. He’s the only player in the NFL to do that this season.

This is on brand for Parsons, as he now has 15 games with at least eight pressures since entering the league in 2021 — the most in the NFL in that span.

Of course, everyone would love for Parsons to turn more of these pressures into sacks, but pressuring quarterbacks is impactful as well. Oftentimes, pressure leads to a quarterback throwing the ball away or making an ill-advised throw.

That’s how Parsons forced Jared Goff to throw an interception in Week 1. Additionally, constant pressure causes quarterbacks to drop their eyes, abandon the pocket, and get off track.

Parsons has clearly played a role in Green Bay holding the third-best defense in the NFL in yards per game, giving up just 232.3, and the best scoring defense, only allowing 14.7 points per game.

The Packers will have to maintain this level for the rest of the season, and they can also take things to another level. That will start with a game against Parsons’ former team, the Dallas Cowboys, on Sunday Night Football.