Carolina Panthers head coach Matt Rhule offered high praise to Dak Prescott on Wednesday, telling reporters that the Dallas Cowboys' star quarterback is performing at a level akin to NFL legends Peyton Manning and Drew Brees.
But are Rhule's comments about Prescott justified? Should he be mentioned in the same breath as a Manning or Brees today? Tiki and Tierney discussed Rhule's evaluation of Prescott during Thursday's show.
"I don't think Dak is quite there, because it's hard to measure the current development of a player to the historical excellence of guys like the Peyton Manning's of the world," Tiki said. "Almost impossible to do that. Trajectory-wise, you can't even do it. Because when we think back to the game when Manning first came in, it was a different animal... It's high praise, but I don't think it's completely unwarranted... I do love where Dak is."
Prescott's first game at AT&T Stadium since suffering a devastating ankle injury last October was a resounding success. He delivered a true franchise quarterback performance on Monday against the rival Philadelphia Eagles, throwing for 238 yards with three touchdowns in a 41-21 shellacking.
By completing 21 of 26 passes, Prescott became just the second Cowboys quarterback to complete at least 80-percent of his passes in back-to-back games. The 28-year-old currently owns a 77.5 completion percentage, which ranks second-highest through three games in the Super Bowl era.
"The reason why I'm totally fine with what Rhule said, is that he backs it up with some statistical analysis," Tierney said. "When he references that he's the second-quickest in the NFL from snap to release, he's able to quantify what he's seeing and then what he's able to transfer from his mind to arm... He's just saying, what he sees and processes is elite. And I'm fine with that."
The Cowboys' offense has been dynamic with Prescott back under center. Through three games, the unit ranks fifth in the NFL in average yards (416.7), sixth in average points (30.0), and 10th in average passing yards (277.3).
Dallas (2-1) will host Rhule and the Panthers (3-0) in a Week 4 matchup on Sunday. According to FiveThirtyEight's projections, the Cowboys currently have a 71-percent chance to reach the playoffs and a 66-percent chance to win the NFC East.
Tiki and Tierney's complete thoughts on Prescott, Rhule, and the Cowboys can be accessed in the audio player above.
You can follow the Tiki and Tierney Show on Twitter @TikiAndTierney and Tom Hanslin @TomHanslin.