Dallas Cowboys edge rusher Micah Parsons is on his way to becoming just the fifth defensive player in NFL history to be a first-team All-Pro player in each of his first three seasons.

The 24-year-old leads the NFL in quarterback pressures (97) and quarterback pressure rate (23%), making him the co-favorite for the 2023 NFL Defensive Player of the Year Award (-115 odds per Caesars Sportsbook) along with Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett. However, Parsons still searches for a superstar whistle from the referees after what transpired in the Cowboys’ 22-20 Christmas Eve loss on Sunday at the Miami Dolphins.

Parsons was called for a roughing the passer penalty on a play in which he and teammate DeMarcus Lawrence sandwiched Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa with just under 30 seconds left in the first half, a play in which he thought was clean.

“[The ref] said my intent was to punish the quarterback,” Parsons said postgame Sunday. “How am I trying to punish him if I’m just trying to sack him? It’s not like it was a late hit. It’s not like I’m leaving my feet. I didn’t lead with my head. I don’t know how you make that call.

“It’s mind-blowing, the things that are getting called, and the positions that we get put in,” Parsons continued. “We just have to learn how to fight the adversity. I know a lot of it is BS, but it’s the world we live in. We’ve got the star on our helmet. … It’s just hard to play defense.”

With Parsons, the NFL’s best at getting in a quarterback’s face, unable to draw a holding penalty across his last 38 quarters played, Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones stood up for his superstar Tuesday.

“There’s no question that Micah (Parsons) is having restrictions that, if turned loose, would result in a sack of the quarterback,” Jones said Tuesday on 105.3 FM The Fan.  They won’t call a holding penalty in a certain range of holding, usually, if they don’t think the player would’ve gotten to the quarterback to begin with. That doesn’t work for Parsons because he’s about to get there almost all the time. Anything that just limits him should be a hold.”

Parsons believes the disconnect between he and the referees is a personal issue, which, in his mind, highlights the underlying issue: simply calling the games correctly or rather the lack of accuracy in officiating.

“The problem I see with officiating is I think it becomes a lot more ego thing than it is them actually wanting to call it,” Parsons said Dec. 14 prior to the Cowboys’ Week 15 matchup at the Buffalo Bills. “People say when you come over and talk to a guy nicely, he’s going to want to do his job right. But in my eyes, why would I have to talk to you any kind of way if you just did your job the first time? Like I shouldn’t be having to talk to you in a certain tone or manner for you to give me a call.”

The All-Pro would rather limit the gamesmanship with officials, an element of football he may have to get into if he wants to see more calls go his and the Dallas defense’s way.

“I’m not here trying to play pat-a-guy,” Parsons said Dec. 14. “You’re affecting my job. I feel like you should just blow the whistle and do what you’re paid to do. At the end of the day, they’re getting paid to call these games, so you should be paid to call the calls you’re getting paid to do. They’re dictating these games and I just don’t think they are being penalized, why does it matter. They don’t care. They’re not getting checks in the mail or notes in the mail about things like that. That’s the only problem I have. It’s just like they don’t care and when you tell them, it’s just like, ‘Oh you’re away from the play, you can’t make the play.’ How are you telling me what I can make? You in my body? You have my abilities? You can’t make that play. I’m a little different, I think I can make every play if I’m near the ball. There needs to be more refs. There needs to be look backs. There needs to be besides challenging flags, we need a penalty flag (review), sometimes this stuff needs to be looked at. It’s a major problem. Some of these calls, a missed flag, penalty, something. It’s bad. It’s bad right now.”