Micah Parsons did what only Reggie White ever did: 12 sacks in each of his first four seasons. Still, the Cowboys traded him to Green Bay over a contract dispute. On Sunday night, he will return not as a Cowboy but as the ghost of what Jerry Jones gave away.

The timing couldn’t be worse for a Cowboys team that looks, well, lost. They’re 1-2 and walking into this primetime showdown without their top receiver and two starting offensive linemen. 

Prescott is trying to put a brave face on it. “It’ll definitely be fun,” he said Thursday, thinking back on all the practice reps when Parsons couldn’t actually hit him. He joked about telling Micah, “he wouldn’t tackle me anyways, he still can’t bring me down.” But then came the reality check. “He has got five guys up front… that he has got to get through,” Prescott added.

The numbers tell a brutal, almost comical story. With Parsons, the Cowboys’ defense posted a 40.2% QB pressure rate, the best in the NFL. Without him? It’s cratered to 29.9%, one of the league’s worst. Meanwhile, in Green Bay, Parsons is cooking.

He is generating pressure on 21.8% of his snaps, the highest rate for any edge rusher, even while facing the most double-teams in the league (18.4%).

The nightmare doesn’t end with trying to block Parsons. On the other side of the ball, Packers QB Jordan Love is playing like a man possessed. His 9.1 air yds per pass attempt is 4th-best in the league because head coach Matt LaFleur is hunting for kill shots on every drive. And the Cowboys’ secondary?

They’re serving them up on a silver platter. Dallas has given up 5 passing TDs of 20+ air yds. No other team has allowed more than two. It’s a schematic mismatch of epic proportions that has blowout potential written all over it.

Five predictions for the Primetime implosion

1. Parsons delivers a multi-sack masterpiece

The Cowboys’ O-line is already a patchwork unit, missing center Cooper Beebe and right guard Tyler Booker. That’s blood in the water for a shark like Parsons, and he’ll be deployed all over the line to exploit every weakness.

Prescott’s casual confidence about his ‘five guys’ up front will age poorly the moment Parsons hits the field.

Green Bay will unleash Parsons, moving him from edge to A-gap, creating matchup nightmares that Dallas simply doesn’t have the personnel to solve. He is already seeing the highest double-team rate in the league and still posting the highest pressure rate. Against a wounded and familiar opponent?

Get ready for at least 2 sacks and a forced fumble.

2. Jordan Love airs it out against a helpless secondary

The Cowboys, under DC Matt Eberflus, have become passive. They’re dead last in the league in man coverage rate (4.9%) and 28th in blitz rate (19.6%). They are practically begging opposing QBs to sit back and pick them apart.

And Love is the perfect QB to accept that invitation. When he isn’t pressured, he completes 84.3% of his passes with a staggering 136.9 passer rating. With Dallas’s pass rush now a ghost of its former self, Love will have all the time he needs to let routes develop. The Cowboys have already surrendered an NFL-high 5 passing TDs of 20 or more air yards.

Expect Love to connect on at least 2 long scores.

3. Williams’ plan hits a wall

The Cowboys’ O-game plan is, by necessity, built on a prayer and an RB. The prayer is that they can control the clock and keep Parsons and Rashan Gary off the field. The RB is Javonte Williams, a genuinely talented bruiser averaging a robust 5.3 yds per carry. 

It’s their only real path to staying competitive. The Packers’ run defense has been suffocating, ranking 3rd in the NFL by allowing a paltry 63.4 rushing yds per game and 3.2 yds per carry. 

Williams will find little room to operate, turning what should be manageable second downs into predictable 3rd-and-longs. And what happens on 3rd-and-long? The pass rushers pin their ears back. The very strategy designed to neutralize the Packers’ pass rush will inevitably fail, leading directly to the situations where it can thrive.

4. Dallas’ pass rush remains a spectator

The hope for a pass rush now rests on the shoulders of Jadeveon Clowney, The numbers are damning: a QB pressure rate that has fallen from first in the league to 26th.

Without Parsons demanding double teams and collapsing the pocket, the rest of the defensive line is exposed. Eberflus’s scheme only compounds the issue. His refusal to blitz means he is relying on a four-man rush that simply can’t get home.

The Packers’ offensive line isn’t perfect, but it’s strong enough to handle Dallas’s weakened pass rush. Jordan Love will have plenty of time to throw all night.

5. The game ends in a rout

The Cowboys’ best chance is to run the ball and control the game, but the Packers’ strong run defense could shut that down early. That means Dallas will have to rely mostly on passing, even though their offensive line is weak. Prescott will be under pressure all night, especially from Micah Parsons, who’s playing with a point to prove. It’s a setup that could go very badly for the Cowboys.

The Packers are undefeated at AT&T Stadium, holding a 5-0 record. They treat Jerry’s World like a second home. From the infamous Dez “dropped it” playoff game to last year’s 48-32 wildcard shellacking, this building holds only good memories for Green Bay.