GREEN BAY – A few weeks ago, Packers defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley playfully called Micah Parsons "the closer" due to his penchant for shutting the door on opponents with late-game sacks.
Then on Thursday while musing at the end of his weekly media session in the Lambeau Field auditorium, Hafley broached a fun idea.
The New Jersey native, a natural fan of baseball's all-time greatest closer, Mariano Rivera, suggested Metallica's "Enter Sandman" – which was famously blared at Yankee Stadium anytime the Hall of Famer came in to finish a game – should be played when Parsons walks onto the field in the fourth quarter.
The media enjoyed a good laugh as Hafley left the podium, and as much as the thought was meant for some humor, it also wouldn't be entirely out of place.
Because Parsons, the three-time All-Pro pass rusher for whom the Packers surrendered a pair of first-round picks and to whom they handed a monster contract just before the start of the season, has the type of nonstop, indefatigable motor to finish games like no one else.
Just look at what he's done this season. Of his team-leading eight sacks, six have come in the fourth quarter or overtime of games the Packers won or tied.
His first sack with the Packers came when he chased down Detroit's Jared Goff. He forced Dallas to kick an overtime field goal when he sacked Dak Prescott near the goal line. He got Arizona's Jacoby Brissett twice in the fourth quarter, once to limit the Cardinals to a field goal and again on the final drive to seal the game. He also sacked Pittsburgh's Aaron Rodgers when protecting a late lead.
His most recent 1½ sacks came last week against the Giants, though the half sack was in the third quarter. It came at the end of a 16-play drive on fourth down in the red zone, when he got to QB Jameis Winston and held on for teammate Isaiah McDuffie to help clean up and share the sack. The turnover on downs kept the Packers in the lead, 19-13.
Then on the game's final play, he caught Winston from behind just before he could release a Hail Mary, and the strip-sack fumble was recovered by teammate Rashan Gary, ending the 27-20 triumph.
"He is the closer and that's what we need him to do," Hafley said. "At the end of the game, he just stepped up. He knows what time it is and he made the play."
Truth be told, the third-quarter half-sack was Parsons' most impressive play last week. He was on the field for ALL 16 SNAPS of the Giants' 9-minute, 46-second drive, and on that fateful fourth down he worked all the way around right tackle Jermaine Eleumunor to grab onto Winston before he could escape the pocket.
"It's the conditioning, how I train," Parsons said this week of having enough in the tank to make such a play. "I think pushing yourself to the brink of breakdown during your offseason training, that's all part of it.
"Even though I didn't have (training) camp, I was training my (butt) off. I'm more than qualified and prepared for those moments That's why I was brought here."
He continued to explain how the cousins he trains with in the offseason are often throwing up at the end of his workouts, which he calls the "crazy" part of being a football player at his level.
"That's literally what football is. Who's going to strain more?" he said. "That's the part that we have to fall in love with. It's the process.
"So when I get them 16 plays and they finally have to throw the ball, it's fourth-and-4 … and it's like, finally, let's go. Like, I'm not going to miss my moment because I'm tired. That is the epitome of stupidity. You're going to waste your mind because you didn't train your body to handle what is finally in front of you and this is what you've been waiting for? So, it's all mentality."
That's exactly the Packers' collective mindset as they embark on an NFC North gauntlet. Green Bay at 6-3-1 is sandwiched between 7-3 Chicago and 6-4 Detroit with all three division foes lined up over the next three games, and a total of five of the last seven regular-season games against NFC North rivals.
The Packers haven't played a division game since Week 1, when they beat the Lions to match their 2024 total for division wins, the lone NFC North victory last season coming courtesy of Karl Brooks' blocked field goal on the final play at Chicago.
This run of division opponents starts against the Vikings (4-6), who beat the Packers twice last year and have won their last two visits to Lambeau Field.
Parsons didn't have anything to do with those, but he'll have something to say this time, fully aware of the stakes.
"It's one of the toughest divisions in football, if not the best division, besides the NFC West," Parsons said. "So, this is a competitive – very competitive – division. You've got multiple teams over six wins right now halfway through.
"It's shaping up like how you want it. This is playoff football. These are all teams that we're going to see trying to get to that Super Bowl, so we've got to prepare. It's almost December – November's almost up – and this is what we need."
