Is Dallas Cowboys star Dak Prescott still the best quarterback in the NFC East?
On ESPN's "Get Up" show this week, Bart Scott declared that "Jalen Hurts has passed him."
What is the reasoning being used by Scott, the former NFL player, to come to that conclusion?
"Jalen Hurts is a better runner, and he's more accurate right now. And he has better weapons on the outside," Scott said. "Jalen Hurts has passed Dak Prescott as far as the rankings at quarterback."
Despite protests from host Mike Greenberg, Scott was adamant.
"The numbers show,'' he said. "The numbers don't lie."
The problem here: What numbers? Which numbers?
At 8-0, the Philadelphia Eagles are, by the numbers, the best team in the NFL. And Hurts has been a big reason for the success of the Eagles' offense. The third-year signal-caller out of Oklahoma has thrown for 2,042 yards and 12 touchdowns with just two interceptions while completing 68 percent of his passes - a sizable improvement from a season ago, when he completed 61 percent of his passes while throwing nine interceptions to 16 touchdowns.
But, as Greenberg points out, Prescott is a top quarterback when healthy, with injuries maybe the only thing that can be held against him.
"Which team led the league in points scored last season?" Greenberg said to Rob Ninkovich, a fellow NFL'er-turned-TV guy, who seemed to agree with Scott's statement.
Ninkovich said, "The past doesn't matter."
That fired up Greenberg, who replied, "That's the last time Dak Prescott was healthy! They led the NFL in scoring,"
Hurts may have the better statistics this season, as a thumb injury sidelined Prescott for five games. Yet, looking at Prescott's past, he's shown the ability to play at an MVP level.
This season, in Prescott's second game back against the Chicago Bears, he completed 21 of his 27 passes for 250 yards, three total touchdowns (one rushing), and one interception, looking nearer the best version of himself in the 49-29 victory - that version being in the first half of last season, when before a calf injury he was an MVP candidate.
Does one good half-season from Hurts mean he's surpassed Dak Prescott?
Maybe on TV. But in real life? Not yet.
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