How the 49ers Neutralized Micah Parsons
The Cowboys defense goes through Micah Parsons. And because he can be such a game-wrecker, it’s imperative that offenses account for him as the focal point of their gameplan.
Kyle Shanahan and the 49ers did just that on Sunday Night, allowing Brock Purdy to pick the secondary apart on the way to a 42-10 blowout of the Cowboys. Parsons was held without a sack or an impact play.
So how did Shanahan do it? With an assortment of tactics of course. He used everything from chips to motion to pulling action in Parsons’ direction. All were designed to force hesitation, keeping him from pinning his ears back and attacking the quarterback. Not to mention, the O-line slid in his direction on almost every straight dropback.
Early in the game, Shanahan set the tone by not allowing Parsons to trust what he was seeing if he appeared to have a 1-on-1 off the edge.
Just take a look at this play from the 49ers’ first drive. Fullback Kyle Juszczyk initially aligned over Parsons but then motioned across the formation:
Parsons now appeared to have a 1-on-1 against right tackle Colton McKivitz:
At the snap, however, tight end George Kittle would motion across the formation in Parsons’ direction and Juszczyk would pull behind him:
The play-fake and motion/pulling action towards Parsons forced him to hesitate. The two bodies in front of him secured the edge. The result was a clean pocket for Purdy and the seeds of uncertainty were planted in Parsons’ head:
Here was another example from San Francisco’s first drive. This time, Parsons was on the right side of the defensive front. Focus on the motion man. That’s fullback Kyle Juszczyk again:
What do you think was going through Parsons’ head as that play transpired? “Ooh, I’ve got a 1-on-1. Oh wait, here comes Juszczyk motioning towards me. Now there he goes away from me into an I-formation. Nice, I’ve got a 1-on-1 again. Unless they don’t throw it, because this kind of looks like it might be a run now. Nope, it’s a pass. I’ve got a 1-on-1 again. But wait, there’s that little gnat Juszczyk helping out on me. WTF just happened.”
Here are a couple other examples. This first play ended in an incompletion, but it’s worth showing because it still had an impact on Parsons.