FRISCO, Texas – The NFL just might be witnessing a new precedent for rookie quarterback play, thanks in large part to the NFC East.
It's not just Dak Prescott in Dallas who's turning heads across the league landscape, as Philadelphia's own rookie Carson Wentz is matching him step-for-step.
The duo of first-year starters has yet to make a misstep through three weeks of play. Wentz is No. 7 in the entire NFL with a quarterback rating of 103.8, while Prescott sits behind him at No. 12 with a rating of 93.3. Prescott's completing percentage of 66.7 is No. 10 in the league, while Wentz is 13th with a percentage of 64.7
Most importantly, neither player has thrown an interception through 201 combined pass attempts.
This has understandably led to a lot of questions – like, how exactly have two rookie quarterbacks gotten so good so fast? San Francisco coach Chip Kelly has some valuable perspective, given that he's coached quarterbacks at both the college and professional level.
Asked Wednesday if changes to the pro game have made things easier on young quarterbacks, Kelly said that wasn't fair.
"No, I think the credit goes to the individual players," he said. "Every year, if a quarterback comes in and isn't successful, everybody blames it on the college game. Then, if they are successful, they try to take credit that the NFL game is changing."
That's a valid point. There have been plenty of critics of current college offenses and how they hamper quarterback development. For instance, there was talk from the time he was drafted that Prescott hadn't taken a snap from center during his entire college career.
There's also the argument that rules changes in football have made the game easier for younger players.
That didn't seem to matter to Kelly, who preferred to give the credit to the players themselves – which makes the past month all the more impressive.
"I think it's the young rookie quarterbacks who are playing really well right now," he said. "The credit I think goes to them. It goes to Dak and the other guys that are playing well."
