Dak Prescott or Carson Wentz? They duel as Cowboys face Eagles on Yahoo Sports app
It seems like Dak Prescott and Carson Wentz will be linked as division rivals for many, many years. Assuming the Dallas Cowboys sign Prescott to a long-term deal, of course.
They came into the NFL together, as members of the 2016 draft. Their careers started in much different places. Wentz was the No. 2 overall pick of the draft and it was no surprise when he started from his first game on. Prescott was a fourth-round pick and started as a rookie due to an injury to Tony Romo.
[Watch live NFL games on the Yahoo Sports app, here's how]
They come into Sunday night’s Eagles-Cowboys game, a game that can be live-streamed on the Yahoo Sports app, in similar places. They lead 3-3 teams that have been playing below the high preseason expectations set for them, hoping for a win to take first place in the NFC East.
Carson Wentz, Dak Prescott among NFL’s best
Prescott and Wentz have been compared a lot, whch is natural. Especially considering the two fan bases and their rivalry.
Here’s how the stats shake out a few games into their fourth seasons:
Prescott: 54 games, 12,759 passing yards (236.3 per game), 78 TD, 31 INT, 96.8 passer rating, 1,077 rushing yards, 20 rushing TD
Wentz: 46 games, 11,610 passing yards (252.4 per game), 82 TD, 31 INT, 92.7 passer rating, 624 rushing yards, three rushing TD
Wentz has been more productive in the passing game, Prescott has been more productive in the running game, but both are good dual-threat players. Prescott is a little more efficient but not by much, and Prescott’s numbers benefit in the comparison from having a much better team around him when both players were rookies. No matter who ranks ahead of the other, they’re both among the NFL’s best.
An argument can be made for either quarterback at this point — Wentz’s injuries factor in too, considering Prescott has never missed a game — but Wentz does have one significant bragging point over Prescott, for now.
Cowboys and Eagles play for first place
Wentz signed a four-year, $128 million deal with Philadelphia this offseason. Contracts are part of the way NFL players keep score, and presumably Prescott’s representatives took note of the comparison between the two quarterbacks and had a starting point for negotiations.
Prescott’s deal, which has been a regular topic of NFL conversation for months, still isn’t done. It seemed in the first three games of the season, when the Cowboys were off to a 3-0 start and Prescott was playing very well, that his price was going up. Prescott hasn’t been quite as great in the last three games, all Cowboys losses, though presumably at some point he’s still going to get an extension that looks similar to Wentz’s deal.
Wentz has bounced back pretty well from another season-ending injury. He suffered a back injury that sidelined him for the final stretch of last season, but he has been a steady performer on an Eagles team that has dealt with plenty of injuries around Wentz. According to Pro Football Focus, Wentz’s grade this season is second to only Russell Wilson among quarterbacks with at least 140 attempts. Prescott ranks third in PFF’s grades.
Prescott and Wentz will probably battle for a long time. Given where both teams are after six games, Sunday’s game might end up being one of the most important meetings they have.
– – – – – – –
Frank Schwab is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at shutdown.corner@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @YahooSchwab
More from Yahoo Sports:
