Micah Parsons hijacks Aaron Rodgers’ Packers reunion with another MVP-calibre defensive show

This Packers vs. Steelers game came loaded with storylines - none bigger than Aaron Rodgers facing the team he led for 18 years, where he won a Super Bowl and once mentored opposing QB Jordan Love. But Green Bay's star edge rusher, Micah Parsons, doesn’t play background roles.

Pittsburgh head coach Mike Tomlin entered the game aware of the threat Parsons posed.

"He's an alien. He's visiting from another planet," he told Steelers.com earlier in the week.

"All of these guys in the National Football League are talented, but there are levels to this. Some people are freaky, even among the freaks, and he is one of those guys.

"I was at his Pro Day, and he outran cornerbacks. That told you everything you needed to know.

"He out-jumped perimeter players; 11-feet in the broad jump; 4.3 in the 40. He is just a unique physical individual."

Until the start of the fourth quarter, it might have appeared that Tomlin had concocted a plan that might keep Parsons' otherworldly abilities at bay.

But, with the game hanging in the balance at 22-19 and with the Steelers' offense in possession, the highest-paid defensive player in NFL history erupted.

On this play, he bulldozed not one, not two, but three blockers before flattening Rodgers.

That play was to prove the turning point. After losing 10 yards on that sack, the Steelers failed to convert the chains and were forced to punt, after which the Packers put together three scoring drives on the way to a 35-25 win.

As incredible as that particular sequence was, nothing about it was out of the ordinary. Parsons has, as he did so often before his acrimonious split from the Cowboys, delivered big-time performances despite being double and even triple-teamed at a far higher rate than any other edge rusher.

Parsons' contribution won't dominate the headlines because he's not a future Hall of Fame quarterback, but his impact was undeniable and keeps him firmly in contention for the Defensive MVP award - a race he was leading even before his latest heroics.

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