It took two games for Micah Parsons to establish a defensive identity for the Green Bay Packers, a team better known for its quarterbacks and high-powered offense, and secure a 2-0 start since 2020. Still, Parsons only played 30 snaps (44.8%) in the season-opening 27-13 win over the Detroit Lions and 47 defensive plays (68.1%) in the 27-18 win over the Commanders. The decision by DC Jeff Hafley, however, is quite understandable. Thursday’s game was played only 10 days after Parsons was traded from Dallas. He still needs to learn the Packers’ defense. While Hafley, before the Washington game, said that he would keep tabs to see if Parsons could be played full-time, the DE seemingly already has an answer.

On Tuesday, after the week 2 game, a reporter asked Parsons’ thoughts on increased snaps against Washington. With a smirk, he simply responded, “I just hope I’m full go. Honestly, it is pi–ing me off. I tell them, ‘(Limited snaps) does worse than good, I get tight and stuff.’ Hopefully, they just let me off. They can’t hold a dog back forever, man.”

Previously, on Sunday, HC Matt LeFleur had joked that he would “investigate” the snap count. Then, before the game against the Commanders, SI’s Albert Breer had reported, “They’ve only had walkthrus this week—work plan’s similar to last week … But they’ll keep tabs on him early, and are hopeful they’ll be able to play him more tonight.” As it turns out, though, pushing Hafley to start him and give him more snaps on the ground was Parsons’ idea all along.

During his Tuesday’s presser, Parsons revealed, “I told [the defensive coaches] the other day when they were talking to me about the snap counts, it’s like, ‘Man, we could run gassers, we could be in practice and you give me these plays, we can run to the ball, but at the end of the day, you’ve got to let me push through some things,'” Parsons said Tuesday. “‘You’ve got to let me get tired and get wore out out there so that way I can become better and get better.’ That’s when it was like, ‘OK, your reps can go up.’ Sometimes you’ve got to fight for your own right to play.”

When it was confirmed that Micah Parsons was coming to Wisconsin, Hafley had confessed to drawing new plays that focused on the DE. While he has only applied a few of them so far, given that Parsons has just returned from a back injury, the DE did his part. On Thursday, he pressured Washington QB Jayden Daniels six times on 32 pass rushes, where the QB only completed 1 of 3 passes. Parsons also shared a sack with Edgerrin Cooper over Daniels. Over the last two games, the Packers have managed to keep their opponents under 250 total yards allowed, the first time back-to-back since 1995. He has also been vocal with the defensive unit to motivate everyone around. And that’s why his work speaks for itself.

Through 65 career games, Micah has 54 sacks, 259 combined tackles, and nine forced fumbles, averaging nearly 13 sacks per season. Green Bay did not give up premium assets two weeks ago to keep him on the sideline for a third of the game. They brought him in to tilt the field and close out games. Even in a small sample size, his impact is undeniable.

Parsons already has 1.5 sacks and three combined tackles this year. In addition, he has eight pressures on just 44 total snaps in Week 2. That is production that most teams would take from a full-time edge rusher, and he is doing it on a pitch count. If you think he is dangerous now, wait until Matt LaFleur and defensive coordinator Hafley unleash him for 90% of the snaps planned for Week 3. This is as much a message as it is a warning, something which he had with Jerry Jones. Now, LaFleur is in awe, too.

Talking about the defense, the head coach said, “Relentless. Just physical, aggressive, attacking. The play style is exactly what we want from these guys, and it always starts with the energy and effort. That’s going to get you through and can overcome some of the mistakes. I think our front is extremely disruptive, getting after the quarterback. It didn’t seem like they ran the ball very effectively at all, either.

“I think Haf’s done a hell of a job, I think our players are doing a great job feeding off one another, and it’s definitely exciting to watch our defense go out there and perform because they allow us to get up on somebody.”

Parsons wants more. He wants to be the guy who sets the tone from the first drive to the last. And if the Packers are serious about becoming a true contender, they might not have any choice but to give Parsons what he wants.