With four weeks remaining in the 2023 NFL regular season, a two-player race is taking shape for the MVP race:
San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy vs. Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott.
During Tuesday morning’s edition of The Carmichael Dave Show with Jason Ross, former NFL quarterback Sean Salisbury joined the show to share his thoughts on the developing MVP race, explain his prediction, and much more.
Plus: Salisbury dives into the wild ending of Sunday’s matchup between the Kansas City Chiefs and Buffalo Bills.
Dak Prescott shook off some late-season struggles and once again looked in top form in Dallas’ playoff opener.
Brock Purdy looked just as good as he has ever since stepping in as the starter in San Francisco, part of his improbable journey from seventh-round pick to playoff quarterback.
With both QBs coming off impressive games in the wild-card round, the Cowboys (13-5) and 49ers (14-4) look like offensive juggernauts heading into Sunday’s matchup in the divisional round.
Presott threw for 305 yards and four TDs and ran for another score in Dallas’ win at Tampa Bay, setting a franchise by accounting for five TDs in a playoff game.
Get a weekly recap of the latest San Francisco Bay Area housing news. Sign up for NBC Bay Area’s Housing Deconstructed newsletter.
It was a far cry from the way Prescott ended the regular season with 11 interceptions in his final seven games.
“Dak has always been a challenge,” 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan said. “(He’s) a pure pocket passer who can make all the throws in there and read the defense really well and get the ball to the right spots and do it accurately. That’s why he’s had the career he has and when things do break down, he’s got a knack for how to get out of that pocket and make some off-schedule plays and that’s why he has had such a successful career so far.”
While Prescott getting back to that form should be little surprise, Purdy’s performance has been less expected.
JAN 19, 2023
49ers’ Brock Purdy Keeps Level Head While Experiencing NFL Success, Stardom
JAN 19, 2023
49ers QB Brock Purdy ‘Not a Rookie Anymore’ to Mike McCarthy, Cowboys
The player picked last in April’s draft has played like a star since replacing an injured Jimmy Garoppolo in Week 13. Purdy has thrown at least two TD passes in seven straight games and has won all six starts while running an offense filled with playmakers like Christian McCaffrey, Deebo Samuel and George Kittle, and a solid offensive line.
He threw for 332 yards and three TDs and ran for a score in a win over Seattle, becoming the first rookie QB to account for four TDs in a playoff game and throwing for the most yards by a rookie in a playoff win since Sammy Baugh in 1937.
“I definitely won’t underestimate him,” Dallas All-Pro edge rusher Micah Parsons said. “He might have surprised some people early on into thinking no rookie is going to come in and beat us and he’s taken them this far. Super excited to go against him to see what he’s got.”
Rivalry Week
The teams will meet in the playoffs for the second straight year after one of the league’s fiercest rivalries took more than a quarter-century postseason break.
This will be the ninth time these franchises have met in the postseason, tied for the most of any matchup in the Super Bowl era with San Francisco against Green Bay and Dallas against the Rams.
Dallas has won five of the previous eight but lost 23-17 to San Francisco in the wild-card round last year, a loss that still stings.
“We get a chance to go back and at their place, do something that we want to do,” Prescott said.
Kicking Quandary
Dallas kicker Brett Maher was backed by owner/general manager Jerry Jones, coach Mike McCarthy and special teams coach John Fassel after missing his first four extra points against the Bucs, a first in NFL history. That didn’t stop the Cowboys from signing Tristan Vizcaino to the practice squad as insurance.
The club has until Saturday to decide whether to put Vizcaino on the 53-man roster. It was going to depend on how Maher responded in practice after his meltdown. He did make the fifth PAT against Tampa Bay, ending a streak of five consecutive misses going back to his final attempt of the regular season in Washington.
“I loved for him to step back up and get another shot, to see one go through, which hopefully will give him some confidence this Sunday,” Fassel said. “We’ll need it.”
Key Dallas Defender
Cowboys safety Jayron Kearse, who figures to be an important piece for the Dallas defense against McCaffrey and Samuel, said there was a “100 percent” chance he was playing after injuring a knee against the Bucs. He was held out the rest of the game as a precaution with the Cowboys comfortably in front when the injury happened.
“I’ve been dealing with a lot of injuries all year,” said Kearse, who missed three games early in the season with a knee injury. “It’s nothing different, especially playoff time. I’m only guaranteed four more quarters.”
Resting Up
The Niners got a two-day head start after beating Seattle on Saturday, while Dallas didn’t play its wild-card game until Monday night.
While the discrepancy seems unfair on the surface, both teams downplayed the impact of the 49ers having the extra rest.
“By this time, I don’t think it is about recovery,” Shanahan said. “It’s about detail and it’s about executing and it’s about playing at a high level. Once you get to games, especially in the playoffs, that recovery, people forget about pretty quickly.”
Jones had no complaints, saying it’s no different than playing on a short week in the regular season, and his players agreed.
The first week of the NFL is finally over. Teams and their players must really prove themselves now – starting with top Brock Purdy and Dak Prescott.Both the teams are coming off lopsided wins – Purdy’s San Francisco 49ers winning 30-7 at the Pittsburgh Steelers and Prescott’s Dallas Cowboys blanking the New York Giants on Sunday Night Football. In Week 2, they will respectively face the Los Angeles Rams and New York Jets.
So who is the better fantasy pick between them?
Is Brock Purdy a good fantasy pick?
Brock Purdy while defeating the Pittsburgh Steelers
Brock Purdy while defeating the Pittsburgh Steelers
also-read-trending
Trending
Brock Purdy is, without a doubt, on his way to becoming the best Mr. Irrelevant in NFL history. He has already won all his regular-season starts and thrown for at least two touchdowns in each of them while achieving a passer rating of at least 95.0, all league-firsts.Heading into the intrastate, intradivisional matchup against the Rams, Purdy is listed at QB11. He is also described as a sleeper pick who should have little trouble against his opponents’ young secondary – unless the ever-dominant Aaron Donald gets to him.
Also read: Brock Purdy Fantasy Outlook
Is Dak Prescott a good fantasy pick?
Dallas Cowboys v New York Giants
Dallas Cowboys v New York Giants
Dak Prescott, meanwhile, was mostly quiet against the Giants, throwing for only 143 yards and no touchdowns for a middling rating of QB19, per Sports Illustrated. But it hardly mattered as Tony Pollard and KaVontae Turpin combined for three rushing touchdowns, while the defense completely silenced MetLife Stadium, sacking Daniel Jones seven times and intercepting him twice.
For managers looking to acquire Brock Purdy, Dak Prescott, or any other player, make sure to use Sportskeeda’s fantasy football trade analyzer to get the best value.
But against the New York Jets, Prescott needs to be at his A-game. Gang Green boasts one of the stronger defenses in the league, anchored by Pro Bowlers Quinnen Williams, CJ Mosley, and Sauce Gardner.Also read: Keenan Allen Fantasy Outlook
Brock Purdy vs Dak Prescott: Who should I start in week 2?
According to Sportskeeda’s Start/Sit Optimizer, Brock Purdy gets the advantage, but only by half a point.
Prescott is expected to be tested more significantly against the Jets, who are eager to dedicate their season to Aaron Rodgers, whose career may have ended after he tore his Achilles against the Buffalo Bills. This means he will have to air it out more, and Sauce Gardner and Jordan Whitehead will have many opportunities to stop him if he does so.Purdy, meanwhile, will only need to contend with Aaron Donald, who has been the Rams’ only noteworthy defender with Jalen Ramsey now plying his trade in Miami Gardens. And even then, Trent Williams and company could silence the multi-time Defensive Player of the Year, freeing him up either in the air or on the ground.A statistical comparison of Dak Prescott and Brock Purdy
Leave a Reply