Prescott-Wentz Duel Has Look of Special Rivalry, but Both Have Plenty to Prove

Dak Prescott and Carson Wentz are supposed to be third-string quarterbacks. They entered training camp buried behind established, expensive starters and veteran backups. 

One thing led to another, and now they are a pair of franchise saviors and rookie sensations, two great hopes for a league hungry to develop some fresh major-market superstars. When Prescott meets Wentz in Dallas on Sunday, it’s not just another battle for the NFC East. It’s a winner-take-all duel to decide who will be anointed the “Future of the NFL.”

But these saviors are on diverging paths. Prescott is coming off a five-game winning streak and a bye, with Dez Bryant returning to bolster his passing arsenal, a running game like a bullet train and a passer rating (103.9) that wedges him between Drew Brees and Philip Rivers on the leaderboard. After an impressive start, Wentz is coming off two losses and a turnover-filled survival victory against the Vikings, his passer rating (92.7) lower than Cody Kessler’s rating (94.4).

Prescott looks like a legend in the making. Wentz looks more like your typical impressive rookie starter.

The differences between them are not as close as they appear. And neither is quite as good as the early-season headlines suggest.

Quarterback Paleontology

Eagles offensive coordinator Frank Reich delivered a familiar sermon on the Thursday between his team’s losses to the Lions and Redskins and an intimidating matchup with the vicious Vikings defense. It was the gospel of “learning experiences” for a rookie quarterback, a message we have all heard before after a youngster suffers a tough loss or two.

Reich pointed specifically to Wentz’s late-game struggles in his two losses. Wentz played from behind for nearly all of the Lions game, led a fourth-quarter comeback, but threw the first interception of his career after a Ryan Mathews fumble in the final minutes allowed the Lions to retake the lead. The Washington game was similar: The Redskins led from their first score to the final gun, with Wentz’s final last-ditch drive ending with a pair of sacks.

Reich said those games will help Wentz in the long run. “Coach [Doug Pederson] has a saying, ‘Quarterbacks have to find where every bone is buried in this offense,'” he said.

“You can tell these guys where these bones are buried, how to get to your second or third [receiver], or where’s that checkdown at,” Reich continued. “And on paper, we understand that. But to actually get out there in the field and know how to find those bones under pressure, it takes it to another level of experiential learning.”

In Wentz’s first three starts, when he became the toast of Eastern Pennsylvania, the Eagles only trailed for a few minutes in the second quarter of the Bears game. Once forced to play from behind, particularly in the second half, Wentz has looked much more mortal.

Prescott, meanwhile has not thrown a pass with the Cowboys trailing since the third quarter of the 49ers game in Week 4. He has not …

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