GREEN BAY — Whether it’s really how he feels or simply a Michael Jordan-esque motivational technique, Micah Parsons — despite 12.5 sacks, despite 67 quarterback pressures, despite being in the conversation for the NFL defensive player of the year award — believes he is being disrespected. 

The Green Bay Packers star pass rusher said so on Thursday, leaving his defensive coordinator, Jeff Hafley, wondering one thing.

“I’d like to know who in the right mind would disrespect Micah Parsons,” Hafley said as the Packers (8-3-1) continued preparations for Sunday’s showdown with the Chicago Bears (9-3) at Lambeau Field with first place in the NFC North on the line.

“I think all great players are motivated. I think a lot of good coaches and good players go into a dark place [mentally] on game day and do whatever it takes to win the game. But I don’t know how anybody could disrespect him at all, the way he plays the game.

“And it’s not just the production and the sacks. It’s just the way he plays the game, how hard he plays it, the knowledge that he has for the game. But I hope he goes into a really dark place on Sunday. I’m excited to see that.”

Only Cleveland’s Myles Garrett, with 19 sacks in 12 games and on pace for an NFL single-season record, and the New York Giants Brian Burns, with 13, have more sacks this season than Parsons, who registered 2.5 sacks in the Packers’ Thanksgiving Day win at Detroit, which made him the first player in NFL history to record at least 12 sacks in each of his first five seasons. Parsons now has 65 career sacks.

With five games to play, Parsons is within striking distance of the Packers’ single-season franchise record of 19.5 sacks, set by Tim Harris in 1989. Next on the Packers’ single-season list: Ezra Johnson, who had 17.5 in 1978, followed by the legendary Reggie White, with 16 sacks in 1998, and Aaron Kampman, with 15.5 in 2006.

And yet, Parsons doesn’t think he’s getting the respect he deserves, despite the transcendent player he’s been since the Aug. 28 trade that brought him to Green Bay from Dallas in exchange for two first-round draft picks and three-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle Kenny Clark.

“Every week people question my worth. People try to belittle me and try to take away my name,” Parsons said. “When you’re the best, that’s what happens — you are talked about, you are looked at more closely. I could go out there and have five sacks and people would say, ‘Oh, it’s coverage sacks, [the quarterback] held the ball.’ They’re going to find something.

“But I will say, for me, you’ll never question how hard I play. It don’t matter what you do or what you put on tape, as long as it’s about winning, I’m a winner.”

Told that it sounded like he might be conjuring up the narrative as motivation, Parsons admitted, “[Sometimes] you’ve got to trick your mind to go into a dark place. You can’t look at the bright side all the time.”

Parsons gave no clear explanation as to what prompted his Rodney Dangerfield-style I-tell-ya-I-get-no-respect soliloquy and didn’t cite any specific person who has questioned his worth. It certainly wasn’t anyone at 1265 Lombardi Avenue.

He did refer in passing to the knock on him being that he doesn’t finish seasons with a flourish. After recording four sacks over the final five games of his rookie season in 2021, he had only 1.5 sacks over the final five weeks in 2022 and 2.5 over the last five games in 2023. But last year, he had 5.5 sacks in his final five games with the Cowboys.

“I think I’m having a pretty good year. I just want to sustain it these last five weeks,” Parsons said. “I read the same thing you guys read. ‘He never finishes the year.’ Well, it’s time to go finish the year. It’s been a great first half. I’ve done this before — 12 sacks, pressures, QB hits, wins.

“I want to leave no doubt. Leave no doubt. That’s where I’m at with it. Leave no doubt.”

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