Emerging franchise quarterbacks are among the greatest gifts football can give to casual fans. And so far this season, the NFL has at least two promising ones in the Dallas Cowboys’ Dak Prescott and the Philadelphia Eagles’ Carson Wentz.
Over three weeks, the two rookie quarterbacks have remarkably similar statistics:
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Carson Wentz: 66/102 (64.7%), 769 yds, 5 TDs, 0 INTs
Dak Prescott: 66/99 (66.7%), 767 yds, 3 TDs (1 pass), 0 INTs
If one player does have an edge, it’s not a very dramatic one: Wentz has slightly more touchdowns and victories, neither of which are under a quarterback’s control alone. The main difference is that Wentz has already been granted the reins to the Eagles offense while there’s still the presumption, however dwindling, that Prescott will hand the Cowboys starting job back to Tony Romo once he returns from injury.
Read More: The AFC South is Still an Embarrassment
While the situation in Dallas today draws the inevitable comparisons with the Patriots 15 years ago, when a young Tom Brady usurped Drew Bledsoe, if anything, the Cowboys will have a less difficult decision to make. In 2001, Bledsoe was still only 29 when Mo Lewis took him out early that season; Romo is 36 and has at best a few years left, though with his recent history of back injuries, it’s fair to wonder whether even that’s being generous.
Dak Prescott, pictured here not with a back that’s not about to fall apart. Photo by Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports
Philly, meanwhile, has certainly climbed onboard the Wentz Wagon and it’s not hard to see why. The the Eagles defense is playing lights out, and Wentz is way ahead of where a rookie should be at this point in his first season. His first two victories over Cleveland and Chicago could easily be dismissed as coming against weak competition, but handing the Steelers the franchise’s worst defeat since 1989 should count for something.
The emergence of new arms like Prescott and Wentz is a good sign for the league as a whole, as well. One of the many things NFL observers have fretted about in recent years is the lack of quality passers—worries that have been heightened in the wake of Peyton Manning’s recent retirement, and with stars like Brady and Drew Brees reaching middle age. While there still aren’t enough top-tier quarterbacks to staff all 32 teams, at least there’s hope that the league won’t become a wasteland under center when those guys leave.
Quarterback is unquestionably the most important position in football, on the field and off. Even when a team’s defense is its strength, the quarterback is its face; casual fans talk of games as showdowns between individual quarterbacks. That’s overly simplistic and can sometimes be frustrating, but it also makes sense. Football can be a maddeningly complex sport that defies full understanding the way it’s presented on television. Dumbing it down to a tidy narrative where it’s approachable without watching All-22 footage is what casual fans have to do when they don’t have enough time to study the game like it’s their job.
Moreover, it’s nice to have fresh material for jokes. You can only hear the same “Is Joe Flacco elite?” or “Ryan Fitzpatrick went to Harvard” gags so many times year after year before you want to put your head through a wall. Eventually, new narratives will emerge for players like Prescott and Wentz and when they do, we’ll be there to laugh at how the Philly QB locked himself in a gas station bathroom.
Terrelle Pryor being a goddamn hero. Photo by Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports
Terrelle Pryor Is the Latest Slash
The Cleveland Browns, as depleted as they are by injury and mismanagement, have no business beating anyone, especially on the road, so it’s a credit to head coach Hue Jackson that the team got as close as it did to defeating Miami. A big part of that was Terrelle Pryor, who was called on to do just about everything. At receiver, he caught eight passes for 144 yards. He lined up as quarterback under shotgun on 14 snaps, running four times for 21 yards and a touchdown, and completing three of five passes. He even played as safety on one snap late in the first half. That’s some Troy Brown-Kordell Stewart type of stuff. It’s also shockingly savvy by the Browns—though, as we will soon see, they made up for it in other ways.
A New Challenger Appears
All eyes were on New York Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham and Washington cornerback Josh Norman as they renewed a blood feud that’s been boiling over since late last season. Things did not get as gruesome as they did in their first encounter, which is certainly for the best, but it was not for a lack of drama. There was a very balletic carry in the end zone in the first half. Though Beckham did have a nice statistical game—seven catches for 121 yards—and one catch-and-run in which he faked out Norman pretty badly, frustration got the better of the Giants receiver sufficiently that he took it out on a sideline kicking net. As the old saying goes, if you swing at a kicking net, you better be prepared for it to swing back, and thus a viral moment was born.
When Washington and New York meet again in FedEx Field, I anticipate the home team will have a few dozen of the nets waiting for the Giants. Dan Snyder has an endless budget for pettiness, it should be noted.
We Have Our New Rule Ejection
One upshot of Beckham and Norman’s fighting in 2015 was a new rule mandating an ejection for any player who receives multiple personal foul penalties in a game. While many assumed it would be either Norman or Beckham to fall prey to it first, the combatants were able to navigate a full game together without getting tossed. Beckham’s Giants teammate Weston Richburg was not so fortunate, however, as he became the first player ejected under the new rule. Given how liberally taunting penalties are being issued this season, he isn’t likely to be the last, though kudos to him for having a sense of timing and getting tossed from an appropriate game.
Steve Smith–Jalen Ramsey Is the New War of Words
Just when football fans thought their thirst for receiver-corner drama had been sated, a shiny new conflict appeared on the scene. In Jacksonville, cantankerous old man receiver Steve Smith went after upstart rookie corner Jalen Ramsey, starting with a hit by Smith on an official for which he should probably be fined. The trash talk spilled over into the postgame and onto social media, where Smith did a solid for Hall of Fame voters by inducting himself into Canton. Ramsey, meanwhile, has caught the attention of casual football fans by having kind of a sassy voice with beat reporters.
Kirk Cousins Took a Bad Sack at the End of the First Half Though Washington Still Won Whatever Shut Up Just Enjoy This Marcus Vick Tweet
Thank goodness Marcus Vick’s Twitter presence didn’t go away just because Mike Vick isn’t presently on a NFL roster. Let’s hope it never does. As soon as I run a TV network that doesn’t care how many times it gets sued, I’m giving him a job as analyst.
A Very Relatable 49ers Fan Video
A couple garbage-time scores made the Niners’ pantsing in Seattle look better than it was. Just take it from this fan who was about to bake his hat. Frankly, if I’m eating official NFL apparel, I think it goes better fried, but I appreciate those who are health conscious. The Niners offense has a big enough deficit of talent that it almost doesn’t matter who runs it, though that duty may soon fall to Colin Kaepernick sheerly out of a desire to try something new, which will make for a politically higher-profile, if not exactly more effective, disaster.
The Rudolph Family Has Good Birthing Discipline
With Jordan Rudolph due to give birth to twins any day now, Vikings tight end Kyle Rudolph was taking a decided risk by suiting up and playing in Carolina. He ended up leading the team in receiving and scoring a touchdown, and I’ve yet to see anything about his wife delivering, so it sounds like it all worked out. If you recall a few years ago when Mike Florio tried to make a federal case of Charles Tillman considering missing a game for the birth of his child, you’ll see how an otherwise innocuous and private decision is actually something football media can spin into a depressing judgment of character.
If Jeff Fisher Is Going to Succeed, It’s Best No One Sees
The Rams improved to the staggeringly above-.500 record of 2-1 yesterday with a victory in Tampa. Thankfully a weather delay pushed the last two minutes back until after the start of Sunday Night Football, so as far as most people are concerned, it never happened. Let’s just keep it that way until next Sunday, when the necessary corrective loss gets L.A. back to .500, where Fisher belongs.
Fan of the Week
The Buffalo Bills finally got their first win of the season. That’s all well and good, but far more important is that the fans put on a good parking lot wrestling show. With a WWE PPV on Sunday evening, the pressure was on to make this one memorable. Drunken revellers from across the land are congregating to make Bills tailgates a special place, and what’s really heartening is some of them aren’t even followers of the football teams playing at the stadium. Hopefully they all chip in to help with that dude’s fractured ribs.
Five Winners Who Covered Their Bloodline in Glory
Siemian might have buzz, but Emmanuel Sanders powered the Broncos offense. Photo by Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports
1. Emmanuel Sanders, Denver Broncos WR. Thanks to a few lucky breaks, Trevor Siemian finished with an impressive stat line in Denver’s win over Cincinnati, but it was Sanders who really shined on the Broncos offense with 117 yards and two scores.
2. Jim Schwartz, Philadelphia Eagles defensive coordinator. Carson Wentz is going to get the bulk of the credit, because that’s how football works, but Schwartz is already shaping up to be this year’s Wade Phillips: a failed former head coach who thrives as a coordinator and whips a defense into an attacking force capable of winning games on its own, though Philly hasn’t been asked to do that yet.
3. Marcus Peters, Kansas City Chiefs CB. There were plenty of Jets turnovers to go around in Kansas City, and naturally one of the league’s top young corners had to go get him some. Peters can be a little boom or bust at this point in his career, but when there’s a vulnerable quarterback being sloppy with the ball, he’s one of the best at going to get it. With two on Sunday, Peters now has 13 picks in 21 career games.
4. Justin Tucker, Baltimore Ravens K. Four-for-four on field goals, including a 54-yard game-winner that he celebrated like he just dropped in a three in someone’s face. Kickers with confidence are dope, until they start missing, and then they’re Mike Vanderjagt.
5. Marvin Jones, Detroit Lions WR. Trying to make up for the loss of Calvin Johnson is no easy task, but for one game, at least, Jones was up to it. Though Green Bay held on to win, the Lions made them sweat for it a little in the second half, thanks to Jones going off for 205 yards and two scores.
Five Losers Bathing in the Hard Water of Infinite Shame
Lewaaaaan. Photo by Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports
1. Taylor Lewan. Already a difficult guy to root for given his alleged involvement in a rape cover-up in college, Lewan’s meathead tendencies cause a problem on the field from time to time as well. Late in the fourth quarter of yesterday’s loss to Oakland, the Titans lineman launched himself into a pile of players; the resulting penalty nullified a play that would have got Tennessee to the Oakland three-yard-line on a potentially game-tying drive. The Titans ended up turning the ball over on downs. Lewan was removed from the game immediately, though that was less out of caution for other players than concern that he may have concussed himself delivering the cheap shot.
2. Cody Parkey. The rest of Cleveland’s roster threatened to ruin the day with shocking displays of competence, leaving it up to the kicker to ensure that the Browns remained the Browns. Parkey—who had been signed just the previous day, after Patrick Murray was placed on IR—missed three kicks on Sunday, including a would-be game-winner from 46 yards as regulation expired. For extra Browns-y flavor, there’s a report indicating that coaches wanted to sign former Bears kicker Robbie Gould while the front office insisted on Parkey.
3. Ryan Fitzpatrick. Nothing like a six-interception game to make a team question why it brought back a journeyman quarterback for $12 million. With an upcoming three-game stretch against Seattle, Pittsburgh, and Arizona, it probably wouldn’t be fair for the Jets to toss one of their young, inexperienced passers to the wolves right now, though it doesn’t seem likely Fitz will be able to hold onto the starting job over that span, either.
4. Kameron Canaday. This is twice in three weeks the Cardinals rookie long snapper has ended up here, which doesn’t suggest great things for his future with the team. On Sunday, as Arizona was lining up for a field goal in the third quarter to cut Buffalo’s lead to 23-10, Canaday launched the snap over the holder. Buffalo recovered and scored, putting the game essentially out of reach with at 30-7.
5. Blake Bortles. He missed open receivers. He threw three picks. Now this season has become less of a matter of the Jaguars taking the next step than a question of whether they’ll even replicate what modest success they had last year.
As for Tonight…
With the rest of the nation working itself into a lather over which presidential candidate proves better at speaking talking points past the other, only the hardiest of football degenerates are left to bare witness to the ten-year anniversary of another time the Saints and Falcons played on Monday Night Football.
That’s right: it’s time to remember when football symbolically saved New Orleans after Katrina, and the city was magically lifted above sea level thanks to a punt block by Steve Gleason.
Gleason’s experience with ALS in the years since is an inspiring story. He and his foundation, Team Gleason, which provides support to ALS patients around the world, will surely be featured in the night’s festivities.
Drew Brees and Sean Payton remain the only active link to the Saints of that year. In 2006, the team was ascendant and relevant for the first time in half a decade, if not longer. New Orleans ended up going to the conference championship, the furthest the Saints had advanced in the postseason at that time. They’ve won a championship since, though with the Saints off to another slow start and Brees a few months shy of his 38th birthday, I can’t help but think the sun is setting on this era of the team’s history.
Beyond being a handy way to remember a significant MNF, Falcons-Saints happens to be one of the fiercer division rivalries in the NFL. With the Carolina Panthers off to a disappointing 1-2 start, the NFC South is up for grabs. Atlanta can claim sole possession of first place with a victory, while New Orleans can plunge the entire division into a shared 1-2 morass. Both offenses are in the top ten through two weeks, while the defenses leave something to be desired. That has the makings of a dramatic shootout, though division games have a way of defying expectations.
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