Micah Parsons recovers a fumble in first NFL preseason game: Watch video
Micah Parsons' NFL career is off to a dazzling start.
The former Penn State All-American and first-round pick of the Cowboys in the 2021 NFL Draft recovered a fumble during his second professional football preseason series on Thursday night when Dallas met the Pittsburgh Steelers in the Hall of Fame game in Canton, Ohio.
Parsons racked up two tackles on the Steelers' opening drive, which ended with a punt, and then stepped up in a big way when Pittsburgh crossed the 50-yard-line on its second march down the field.
Pittsburgh's Mason Rudolph lined up under center from the Cowboys' 46 on a first down, and Chase Claypool came across the formation from left to right. A called jet sweep failed, however, as the receiver ran by the quarterback before the snap.
Rudolph never realized it, and the ball left his hands as he turned and fell to the turf. Parsons, who was lined up near the line of scrimmage on the side that the play was going, was hardly touched by Steelers tight end Kevin Radar off the snap and fell on the loose ball.
A pile ensued, but the Harrisburg native had possession from the get-go for his first career turnover at the pro level, even if it came in a preseason tilt.
"Just like training camp, Cowboys rookie LB Micah Parsons just constantly seems to be in the right place at the right time," Joe Machota of The Athletic wrote on Twitter.
You can watch the play courtesy of a video from the NFL and FOX that was posted on Twitter below:
Parsons, who the Cowboys selected No. 12 overall back in April, forced six fumbles and recovered one during his two seasons in blue and white. He opted out of the 2020 season, of course, because of the coronavirus pandemic, but he hasn't missed a step, it seems, as coaches and teammates have raved about his performance in training camp thus far.
In Thursday night's first quarter, Parsons finished with three tackles in addition to the recovery.
Dallas opens its 2021 season at the defending Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay Buccanneers on Sept. 9 during Sunday Night Football on NBC.
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