Micah Parsons on Cowboys at Giants: 'Everyone Gets The Smoke!'

Dallas Cowboys linebacker Micah Parsons brings his all to every game, whether it's a rivalry matchup or not

The Dallas Cowboys are prepping for their season-opener, a Sunday Night Football matchup against the NFC East-rival New York Giants.

Any rivalry game, especially one as heated as Cowboys-Giants, is bound to get intense at some point. For Dallas star linebacker Micah Parsons, though, he's bringing the same intensity to this matchup as he does to every other.

"Nah man, everyone gets the same smoke," Parsons told reporters. "It doesn't matter if we're in Wisconsin or in Boston — I'm treating everybody the same."

Of course, Parsons still recognizes the greater importance of Sunday's opener. The Cowboys may have won both games against the Giants last year, but with each contest game being decided by one score, they were by no means a walk in the park. New York was already a dangerous team and seemingly only got better over the offseason, so Parsons knows he and his squad will have to be ready.

"It's extremely important," Parsons said. "The Giants aren't a walkover team. They put together a great offseason just like we did. They've got great guys they've already had, and the rivalry makes it harder and something you've gotta prepare for because they're going to give us their best shot.

"Each game last year came down to the wire. This is like a Super Bowl."

The Cowboys have had the Giants' number over the past several years. Dallas has won 11 of the last 12 matchups against its heated rival, with the lone loss coming in the regular-season finale in 2020, when the Cowboys were without starting quarterback Dak Prescott. 

That said, the Cowboys can't afford to underestimate the Giants in this game. Dallas has lofty goals in mind this season, and winning this opening game would be a great start towards achieving those goals.

"Every night it's, 'Super Bowl, Super Bowl, Super Bowl.,'" Parsons said. "But, you know, I don't get too caught up on it — at the same time — because I know I have to take care of each week as its own. Each day has worries of its own. You have to focus on getting better inch by inch and, eventually, you'll build enough inches to where you are in the Super Bowl."