GREEN BAY – The motivational videos started back at Harrisburg (Pa.) High School for Micah Parsons and never stopped.
Whenever the Packers' defensive lineman wants to lock in, Parsons pulls up YouTube for inspiration and takes in the wisdom of Muhammad Ali, Kobe Bryant, Mike Tyson, and Ray Lewis.
This week, however, it was a line from one of Parsons' personal favorites, motivational speaker Eric "E.T." Thomas, that hit home for the four-time Pro Bowler and a message Parsons delivered to his defensive teammates on Thursday.
"Be phenomenal or be forgotten," Parsons said.
It's a creed Parsons is challenging the Packers to meet after a dominant display in early wins over the Detroit Lions, who have since won four in a row, and Washington Commanders.
The past two games also served as a reminder of what it takes to perform at that level on a consistent basis after Green Bay gave up 436 yards and 40 points in a tie with Dallas before the bye.
While the Packers remain understandably disappointed in the result, the Cowboys now stand atop the NFL in total offense (406.6 yards per game) and sit fourth in points (30.2 ppg) after a 37-22 drubbing of the New York Jets on Sunday.
Coming off a Week 5 bye, the Packers still rank among top five in most defensive categories – fourth in total yards (283.3 ypg), second in rushing (77.5 ypg) and third in goal to go (57.1%).
But Parsons wants the unit to be better than just good. He wants the 2025 Packers to be memorable.
"No one talks about good defenses. We've seen a lot of good defenses," Parsons said. "Eleven, 12 weeks of the year, they're pretty good. But those other weeks, what did they look like?
"You think about those great defenses – the Ravens, Denver, Chicago still get brought up because of what they did consistent for 17 weeks. We gotta be great. We gotta be great every week."
The bye not only came at a good time for Green Bay from a health standpoint but also gave defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley and his unit time to reflect on what happened at AT&T Stadium.
It was almost a tale of two halves for the Packers, who limited Dallas to a mere 35 yards on its first three offensive possessions before the defense conceded an 11-play, 95-yard touchdown drive at the end of the second quarter.
A turnover deep in Green Bay territory gave the Cowboys another shot at points with 13 seconds left in the half and Dak Prescott cashed in with a 15-yard TD pass to George Pickens.
In a matter of 32 seconds, the Packers went from leading 13-2 to trailing 16-13 at halftime. At that time, Dallas still had only managed 145 total yards while going 0-for-3 on third down but the air seemed to be escaping the balloon.
"From there, I felt like we were just off a little bit," Hafley said. "I need to do a better job in those moments of making sure we regroup, reset and get back to who we were. But I just felt like the execution was a little bit off."
The defense had moments in the second half, first avoiding a "triple-up" after forcing Dallas to punt on the Cowboys' first possession to get Green Bay's offense back on the field.
While the Packers produced three consecutive TD drives, the Cowboys matched the output to force overtime. Parsons and the defense showed grit in holding Dallas to a field goal after seeing first-and-goal from the Packers' 5 following a 34-yard pass to Jalen Tolbert.
Green Bay was grateful to salvage the tie with a 34-yard Brandon McManus field goal as time expired, but it still wasn't the performance the Packers envisioned after losing 13-10 on a game-winning field goal a week earlier to Cleveland.
"The first two games we were good, really good. Then some things came back and bit us in our ass," safety Xavier McKinney said. "And we felt the repercussions of that with a loss and a tie.
"So I think it was just kind of a wake-up call for all of us, knowing we've still got a lot of room for improvement, and we've got a long way to go when we talk about getting to the big game."
The Packers have an opportunity to right the ship this Sunday against the Cincinnati Bengals, who lead the NFL in giveaways (11) while ranking last in total offense (228.6 ypg), rushing (57.0 ypg) and average time of possession (25:33).
Green Bay's defense appears to be in a good place heading into the matchup. After Parsons' speech to the defense, third-year defensive end Lukas Van Ness reached out to the fifth-year pro for pass-rushing advice and motivational suggestions.
"It's about the hunt. It don't stop until the hunt's finished," Parsons said. "It doesn't matter how Play 1 looks like or Play 10. It's the constant hunt. That's the excitement that I know I'm going to get more than one chance."
Hafley is on board with whatever gets Parsons and the defense in the right frame of mind. Based on what he's seen on the practice field this week, the Packers defensive coordinator feels confident about how his unit will respond against Cincinnati.
Because the defense hasn't forgotten how great it can be. This Sunday, it looks to show it.
"If listening to those motivational tapes helps him, then I'll buy him more motivational tapes and send them to him whenever he needs," said Hafley of Parsons.
"But I don't think Micah Parsons needs much motivation to play. I don't think a lot of our guys do. I think our guys are highly motivated right now to get back on the field. They know what they're capable of and they're excited to play again."
