Having completed two rounds of the 2020/21 NFL season schedule, we move to week three and there is a fantastic game in prospect between the Dallas Cowboys and the Seattle Seahawks. It is the Seahawks who will have the home-field advantage for this game at CenturyLink Field, all be it without any fans inside the stadium. The hosts will be feeling confident having claimed victory in both of their games this season but one of the most intriguing aspects of this game is the duel between Dak Prescott and Russell Wilson.
For those who have already made up their mind which player and team will come out on top, you can check out the 888sport NFL Lines Week 3. Here you will find a great weekly blog making predictions about the upcoming NFL games. You may agree or disagree with the tips but you will find some cracking odds for the NFL throughout the season.
Considering the two quarterbacks who will be operating in this game, there was a great deal of discussion throughout the summer regarding the contract situation of Prescott and the Cowboys. It is thought Prescott was pushing for a deal to match that of the top quarterbacks in the NFL but it did not come to fruition.
Jane Slater, a reporter for the NFL Network said on her Twitter feed, “The deal included a 50M signing bonus and 70M over the first two years. I’m told Dak Prescott wanted to get this deal done but it was just too late per a source informed.”
The majority of Cowboys fans believe Prescott deserves his place among the elite quarterbacks of the NFL and this game at the Seahawks gives him the opportunity to back up their claims. Interestingly, during his rookie season in 2016, Prescott performed well against teams with an above .500 record. However, since then his record against the same opposition has deteriorated. In the 2019/20 season, Prescott had a record of 8 touchdown passes and 8 interceptions against teams with an above .500 record. Therefore, the Cowboys struggled against these teams and finished with a 1-6 record.
You compare that to the record of Russell Wilson and you see why many onlookers believe it is the Seahawks quarterback who will come out on top on Sunday. When playing against the absolute best the NFL has to offer, Wilson tends to rise to the occasion. Prior to the beginning of this season, Wilson had a career record of 26-21 against winning teams. That included an 11/4 ratio and a 4-4 record against above .500 teams last season, which is very impressive.
There is also the fact that Wilson delivered the Super Bowl to Seattle in only his second season in the NFL and it was a phenomenal achievement. The statistics suggest that if you are a team in need of a victory and the pressure is on, Wilson is your man. Well, as things stand heading into week three of the NFL season, the Cowboys are the team under pressure, coming into the game with a 1-1 record against the 2-0 record of the Seahawks. On that basis, it appears as though Wilson is the quarterback who is going to lead his team to victory on the day.
Although looking at the fantasy NFL statistics does not always determine who is the best player, there is a clear difference between the pair already this season. Wilson is ranked as the number one quarterback in NFL fantasy following the second round of games. Prescott is down in 5th place at the time of writing and that is another indicator of the superior quality of Wilson.
A look at the passing completions for both players shows Wilson has a superior record with 82.5% while Prescott has an average of 68.6%. When we move into the touchdown statistics things become even clearer. Prescott has thrown for only 2 touchdowns this season whereas Wilson has 9 passing touchdowns. These have been split evenly across the two games played, with 4 of the passing touchdowns coming against the Atlanta Falcons and 5 coming against the New England Patriots last weekend. It has certainly been an explosive start to the season for Wilson and he will be aiming to keep it going against the Cowboys.
At 27 years of age, Prescott certainly has time to develop into an elite NFL quarterback. There is every chance he will do so but right now it is difficult to look beyond Wilson as the man who is going to come out on top in a duel between the players. Although he may not want to admit it, the meeting with the Seahawks and Wilson is the perfect opportunity for Prescott to learn and progress his own game. There is no doubt the Cowboys can come out on top, given their recent show of grit, but if Wilson is at his best, the Seahawks will be extremely difficult to stop.