Dallas Cowboys

Numbers say Cowboys Dak Prescott is better than Bengal's Andy Dalton

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

foxsports

The numbers say that the Dallas Cowboys rookie quarterback is better than the Cincinnati Bengals veteran. The two teams face off on Sunday.

When the 3-1 Dallas Cowboys face off against the 2-2 Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday, one of the more intriguing matchups will be under center. For the Cowboys, rookie Dak Prescott has been the talk of the league. And for the Bengals, the jury is still out on veteran passer Andy Dalton.

Prescott has impressively led the Cowboys on a three-game winning streak filling in for an injured Tony Romo. A 2016 fourth round selection out of Mississippi State, Dak has played like a seasoned veteran. Most impressively, Prescott hasn’t thrown a single interception in his first 131 passing attempts.

In his sixth season under center for the Bengals, Dalton was a 2011 second round pick out of TCU. The Texas native has played well in the regular season, leading Cincinnati to a winning record in each of his first five seasons as the starter. But the Bengals have lost five straight wildcard playoff games in that same span as well. So Dalton appears to be a good regular season quarterback, but struggles in the playoffs.

So as the two quarterbacks prepare to play each other this Sunday, making a comparison of the two makes sense. And according to the numbers, the rookie appears to be better than the veteran.

Here are their stats through four games so far this season:

Dak Prescott – 1,102 passing yards, 3 TDs, 0 Ints, 67.9%

Andy Dalton – 1,234 passing yards, 3 TDs, 2 Ints, 66.4%

What do the analytics have to say?

Dak Prescott – 84.1 QBR, 98.5 passer rating, PFF Grade – 81.6

Andy Dalton – 59.3 QBR, 93.8 passer rating, PFF Grade – 83.1

Obviously, football is a team sport. So quarterback play alone doesn’t win ball games. But many view the position as the most important one in all of sports. And if a single player can determine the outcome of a contest, it’s likely the one under center.

I think the main takeaway here is the fact Prescott is having an excellent season so far. And that when it comes to quarterback play in Sunday’s game, the Cowboys and the Bengals are pretty evenly matched. It will likely be the excellent and/or poor play of another positional group that will determine the outcome in this contest.