By NICHOLAS BRUENS
One was considered a top prospect in the draft while the most teams slept on the other. One was forced into action by injury while the other’s team traded away a veteran so he could start. As different as these two quarterbacks are, Carson Wentz and Dak Prescott find themselves in the same place, facing each other in Week 8 of he NFL regular season on Sunday Night Football.
Both rookies led their respective teams to successful seasons as of now. As a result, these players received much praise from the news media and NFL analysts alike. Wentz and Prescott have both been hailed as Rookie of the Year candidates and viewed as the future of the quarterback position in the NFL.
These praises have only drawn the news media to do two things, compare the two quarterbacks and discuss who is better and push the prospective rivalry to the public. Prescott does not like these comparisons and just like to be compared to himself.
“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.”
Philadelphia Eagles head coach Doug Pederson says it is the players’ intangibles that draw their comparisons.
“They know how to lead their teams,” Pederson told the media, “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.”
The game’s being on Sunday Night Football only aids the media in their quest to balloon this rivalry before it begins. Reporters are already saying Wentz and Prescott could produce a rivalry that could equal the rivalry of Peyton Manning and Tom Brady.
It is clear the media is looking for a new QB rivalry following the recent retirement of Super Bowl 50 champion Peyton Manning.