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Former Dallas Cowboys edge rusher, Micah Parsons, putting his hand to his face after a pre-season game against the Baltimore Ravens on August 16, 2025.

The Dallas Cowboys made a huge decision to trade away Micah Parsons to the Green Bay Packers late last month.

The franchise decided to spread the wealth amongst its other key players, such as cornerback, DaRon Bland, and offensive lineman, Tyler Smith – both of whom got paid in the aftermath of Parsons’ high-profile departure.

But ultimately the trading of Parsons was a signal to the fans and the media that they at least had some sort of faith in the other components of their edge-rushing group. Particularly the younger talents like rookie, Donovan Ezeiruaku and second year pro, Marshawn Kneeland – both of whom were second round picks over the past two draft classes.

Both received strong praise coming out of training camp in August – and it was thought by some that, over time, the pair would ultimately supplant the team’s incumbent starters, Dante Fowler Jr. and Sam Williams, to lead the defense into the Post-Parsons era.

However, a strong start defensively against a not-quite-right Philadelphia Eagles in the season opener has not continued on, as the team conceded a combined 68 points against the Giants and Bears – not exactly two of the league’s more renowned offensive powers – in weeks 2 and 3.

And to make matters worse, a new statistic has emerged about Kneeland and Ezeiruaku’s play during the most recent loss in Chicago, which states that both players – along with fellow backup edge rusher, James Houston, all had a 0% pass rush win rate against the Bears last Sunday.

“Per PFF: Donovan Ezeiruaku, James Houston AND Marshawn Kneeland all had 0% pass rush win rates against the Bears.” NFL statistics afficionado, Matt Owen, wrote on Monday.

According to ESPN, the metric can be defined as the following.

“Our pass rush win rate metric tells us how often a pass rusher is able to beat his block within 2.5 seconds. Likewise, our pass block win rate metric conveys the rate linemen can sustain their blocks for 2.5 seconds or longer.”

Pro Football Focus does not outline the exact timeframe for how quick a rusher must beat their block in their modelled calculations, but it is probably safe to assume it is similar to that of ESPN’s.

The Cowboys’ Defensive Front Needs Improvement In Week 4

By this statistic – and against the Bears’ certainly non-elite offensive front – those three players did not manage to beat their blocker just one single time.

This statistic is brutal for both the individuals themselves, and for fans hoping that the team could Moneyball-ing their way into replicating – at least in part – Parsons’ disruption on the defense.

Heading into Sunday night’s game against the Green Bay Packers, where Dallas is currently a 7-point underdog, the Cowboys will not exactly be confident of an easy win at home in a get-right game against a team that still have realistic expectations of a deep playoff run.

But Green Bay’s offensive line struggled to handle the pressure exerted from the Browns’ front four during their shock defeat on last weekend. So whilst a win could be a tall-ask, this could be a game for Ezeiruaku and Kneeland to show that they are still competent, developing players, capable of impacting games and disrupting offenses.

Daniel Arwas Daniel Arwas is a sports writer who covers the NFL for Heavy.com. Daniel began his career in sports writing in 2022 and has covered the NFL and college football for Gridiron Heroics and The Hammer. More about Daniel Arwas