Prescott vs. Wentz has potential
It’s funny how the stars have aligned for this. Dak Prescott vs. Carson Wentz. Sure, Dallas Cowboys coach Jason Garrett and his Philadelphia Eagles counterpart, Doug Pederson, are viewing this looming tilt at Jerry’s World as a team thing. And that’s true. First place is on the line. But when the NFL’s two hottest rookie quarterbacks are in the mix, it’s a plot line too juicy to resist.
Prescott, regardless of when Tony Romo comes back, is the Cowboys’ quarterback of the future — and the present. The Eagles traded a bundle to move up in the draft to select Wentz at No. 2 overall, which is everything you need to know about his leading role.
So here it is: the first matchup of what might be the NFL’s next big quarterback rivalry.
And, for a bonus, the NFL gets a jolt.
Prescott and Wentz are not only pivotal to the playoff hopes of their respective teams — the
Cowboys are 5-1, the Eagles are 4-2 — they also are providing fresh star power that the NFL could really use in prime time.
With TV ratings for NFL games this season experiencing a doubledigit percentage decline and numbers of the prime-time games suffering an even more pronounced hit, the timing is perfect.
NBC thanks you, Dak and Carson.
Think they’re ready for the big stage and bright lights?
No sweat, given the way they’ve handled themselves in two pretty tough NFL markets. Prescott, a fourth-round pick from Mississippi State, has played so well that many people expect Romo, recovering from back surgery, might not get his job back. Wentz plays in the City of Brotherly Love, with an intense fan base that can chew them up and spit them out with the best of them.
Yet the poise that the two rookies have demonstrated through their fast track to higher expectations is a striking similarity that has earned them serious locker room cred.
Just listen to Prescott, deflecting the dramatic subplot of the week.
“I really don’t measure myself to anybody,” he told reporters at the Cowboys headquarters. “Not any other rookie, not Peyton Manning, not Tony (Romo), not any of those. It’s all about how I can become better each and every day.”
This approach is something to cherish about Prescott. He knows. The rest of us can do the comparing. He has his own job to handle.
Wentz, who assumed the starting gig after Sam Bradford was traded to the Minnesota Vikings, is equally nonplussed.
“They know how to lead their teams,” Pederson said, alluding to the poise that extends to the football field, where Prescott has thrown just one interception and Wentz three. “Nothing seems to be too big for either one of them. They take it in stride, the ability to protect the football through these first six, seven games like this has been crucial.”
And just think: Two months ago, this loomed as a matchup featuring Romo vs. Bradford.
Of course, it’s not just about the quarterbacks. Complementary football is what all coaches want. And to a large degree, that’s what they’re getting. The Eagles defense allows 14.7 points per game and has 20 sacks, both marks third best in the league. Philadelphia has returned kickoffs for touchdowns in back-to-back games.
The Cowboys, with dazzling rookie NFL rushing leader Ezekiel Elliott behind the league’s best offensive line, lead the NFL in time of possession (33:08), which takes much pressure off an overachieving defense.
The Cowboys and Eagles rank near the top of the league in rushing attempts and at the bottom in passing attempts. That’s how to help a rookie quarterback get his feet wet. That was the deal in 2008, when Matt Ryan and Joe Flacco led the Atlanta Falcons and Baltimore Ravens to the playoffs as rookie quarterbacks running offenses that logged the most rushing attempts in the NFL.
Still, at some point a quarterback has to make a play to win.
And Sunday night, the NFL’s two best rookie quarterbacks will get their shots.