Micah Parsons and the Dallas Cowboys took a bite out of a reality sandwich on Sunday, losing the Arizona Cardinals by a score of 28-16.

The Cowboys had gotten off to a dominant 2-0 start, outscoring their opponents by a combined score of 70-10 over the first couple of weeks. However, Dallas looked listless for most of the game in Week 3 and ended up falling to a previously winless Cardinals team.

After the game, Parsons said that he felt his club played down to their competition, which drew the ire of some people.

Former NFL head coach and current ESPN analyst Rex Ryan was one of the first to tear into Parsons.

“Total B.S. man,” Ryan said on ESPN’s Get Up on Monday morning. “You just got pummeled by that team. They whipped your tail end all over the field right there and you’re going to show lack of respect? To me, that was total disrespect.”

Ryan added that it was a “punk move.”

Additionally, former NFL linebacker and current Fox Sports analyst Emmanuel Acho, who sang Dallas’ praises after the first two games, said that the Cowboys lost largely due to the Cardinals’ genius gameplanning for Parsons.

Through three games this season, Parsons has logged 12 tackles, four sacks, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery. An early Defensive Player of the Year favorite, the shoe is now on the other foot for Parsons, who is not accustomed to receiving criticism since entering the NFL in 2021.

And why would he be?

In his first two NFL seasons, Micah Parsons made the Pro Bowl and earned First-Team All-Pro honors both times and appears well on his way to doing so again in 2023.

Parsons and the Cowboys will look to right the ship when they host the New England Patriots next Sunday.