Packers have a legitimate reason to be frustrated, and Micah Parsons is at the center of it
Edge defender Micah Parsons doesn’t get nearly as many holding calls as he should.
Micah Parsons affects the game in multiple ways. He’s had 12.5 sacks this season, he generated seven pressures against the Chicago Bears, and he didn’t allow Caleb Williams to run around him, which is very impressive for a guy of his size.
Parsons also grabs the attention of the opposing offense, allowing his teammates to be more effective and have more favorable situations. But apparently, there’s one thing he can’t do: generate holding penalties.
“I’m immune,” Parsons said. “I just gotta keep fighting through. I mean, that’s been the definition of my career. The rulebook is they gotta be in the chest area, and I’m just not getting grabbed in the chest area.”
Refs don’t call holding penalties on Micah Parsons for some reason
The Bears didn’t get called for holding on Parsons once on Sunday, even though some plays were, as Packers head coach Matt LaFleur put it, “questionable at the least.” Even though LaFleur didn’t want to get too deep into officiating talk, he clearly wasn’t happy with how the calls went.
“I’m not going to get into what we were talking about,” LaFleur said after the game. “Officials, I don’t think that their jobs are easy by any stretch. I think it is a difficult job, but I guess I don’t know what holding is anymore because I thought that was a pretty clear and obvious hold, but I guess I don’t know what that means.”
When asked about what Parsons would have to do to get a holding penalty called, LaFleur reinforced that he disagreed with one specific non-call.
“I guess, I don’t know. I thought there was one that certainly was questionable, to say the least,” LaFleur explained. “But apparently the officials disagreed. So it is what it is, and we’ve just got to continue to strain and fight and try to get to the quarterback.”
On Sunday, Williams did a great job on an individual level to avoid being sacked, even under pressure — moving around and throwing the ball away. Ultimately, though, the Packers pulled off a big 28-21 win to reach the top of the NFC North.
Next week, Parsons and the Packers’ defensive front have a huge challenge against the Denver Broncos, one of the top pass-protecting units in the NFL. And it will certainly be helpful if the refs finally call some holding penalties when they happen.
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