The moment the Green Bay Packers pulled off the blockbuster trade for Micah Parsons, it was inevitable that Detroit Lions fans — and Skip Bayless — would jump in to claim Aidan Hutchinson was the better player, even though both the tape and the data say otherwise. Still, that’s part of a divisional rivalry that’s been reignited over the past couple of years.
Don’t get me wrong, both are phenomenal players and among the best defensive talents in the league. However, when it comes to the edge rusher position, Micah Parsons is in a separate tier with Myles Garrett. No other player currently enters that tier, and you don’t need to look past Thursday’s Thanksgiving matchup between Green Bay and Detroit to recognize that.
Parsons had a full Thanksgiving feast in Detroit — during the game and in the postgame interview with Erin Andrews. He recorded seven pressures, 2.5 sacks, three hurries, and one hit on Jared Goff, along with a 25.9% pass-rush win rate. On true pass sets, he generated six pressures and posted a 35.7% pass-rush win rate.
He now has 8.5 career sacks on Thanksgiving, tied for the most since sacks became an official stat in 1982. Furthermore, he became the first player in NFL history to record at least 12.5 sacks in each of his first five seasons.
Parsons took over the game in the fourth quarter. On the first drive, he made a run stop for no gain on first-and-10 and another run stop for no gain on third-and-three. On the second drive, he closed the door with a sack for a loss of eight yards and another sack on third-and-goal for a nine-yard loss.
“I feel like, going into the offseason, it was supposed to be my year, my year to be the best player and just trying to live up to that,” Parsons said after the game. “Obviously, not having (training) camp, it took me a little more of a while to get into a rhythm. Being in championship football games, division games, I just have to step up my level of play and just be the person they brought me in to (be).”
Parsons rushed on 28 snaps, which accounted for 93.75% of Detroit’s passing plays. Meanwhile, Hutchinson rushed on 97% of the Lions’ passing snaps (32 of 33), finishing with three pressures and three hurries, along with a 6.7% pass-rush win rate and a 7.1% win rate on true pass sets. For context, Parsons, Enagbare, and Devonte Wyatt all had higher win rates than Hutchinson. Rashan Gary was fourth on the team among defensive linemen in win rate on true pass sets, at 7.1% — the same as Hutchinson.
Sure, Detroit’s offensive line isn’t the dominant unit it was in previous seasons, especially on the interior. But Parsons lined up outside the tackles on more than 63% of his snaps, meaning he spent most of the afternoon going up against Penei Sewell and Taylor Decker. Sewell and Decker rank 15th and 28th, respectively, out of 82 offensive tackles with at least 100 pass-blocking snaps for the fewest pressures allowed. Decker isn’t having his best year, but he hasn’t been bad — and Parsons still overwhelmed both of them.
Meanwhile, Hutchinson generated only three pressures against an offensive line that, just a couple of weeks ago, was on pace for its worst pass-blocking efficiency in over 15 years. He lined up 19 times over Rasheed Walker and came away with only one pressure — the second-fewest Walker has allowed in a game this season and his lowest since Week 8 in Pittsburgh. Hutchinson also lined up 34 times outside of Zach Tom and again managed just one pressure.
The season stats are pretty telling, too. Parsons holds the higher overall defensive grade and the higher pass-rush grade, and their run-defense grades are nearly identical. Hutchinson has four more pressures, three more quarterback hits, and five more hurries. Still, context matters: He has also played 109 more snaps than Parsons. And, remember, Parsons was on a pitch count for the first two games of the season. Even in Week 1, while limited, he still matched Hutchinson’s pressure total and added a sack, while Hutchinson was a non-factor.
You might think I’m biased, but Parsons has been the better player since his days with the Dallas Cowboys. That doesn’t take away anything Hutchinson has accomplished in the league — he’s already an outstanding edge rusher and one of the brightest young defenders in football. The point is that Parsons is in the same tier as Myles Garrett, while Hutchinson belongs in the tier with T.J. Watt, Nick Bosa, and Co. All of them are phenomenal players, but there’s a difference between great players and freaks of nature. Garrett and Parsons are in that category.
