The Philadelphia Eagles have reclaimed their early season mojo after back-to-back losses. But this coming Sunday night, records are thrown out the window.
While the Eagles and Dallas Cowboys will do battle for first place in the NFC East, this is more of a who’s the better of the rookies. Eli Manning has the rings, Kirk Cousins is playing for a contract, but Carson Wentz and Dak Prescott are playing for validation.
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When the season first started, both rookie QB’s were buried on the depth chart behind veterans. As luck would have it, both teams were forced to throw their players into the fire to either let them burn or watch them shine. And shine they both have.
Prescott has been outstanding in his first year, along with fellow rookie Ezekiel Elliott have provided Cowboys fans flashbacks of Troy Aikman and Emmitt Smith. Wentz, on the other hand, was a question mark the Eagles took a gamble on with the second pick. Thank God for good scouting.
What happens Sunday night will not destroy the confidence of either player, but this is the game for both to prove who they are. Prescott made his statement against the Green Bay Packers, and Wentz made his against the Pittsburgh Steelers. But this is Eagles vs. Cowboys, a strong rivalry, division lead on the line and the nation watching due to its primetime placement.
In the NFL, rivalries are just as fierce as they are in college but it’s something about the Boys and Birds that gets that extra adrenaline pumping. Yardage and touchdowns mean nothing, it’s who can lead their team to victory that matters here.
Both teams will lean on rookies to help foster a new generation of this rivalry. While each has had their way with other teams, neither has faced the type of pressure that will come Sunday.