DALLAS — NFL fans will be treated to a battle of upper echelon quarterbacks on Sunday when the Dallas Cowboys face the Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium in Week 11.
Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott will lead his 7-2 squad against the 6-4 Chiefs led by Patrick Mahomes. Both quarterbacks are not only catalytic for their teams' success, but they also represent a new style of play that incorporates dual threat and scrambling abilities to find bigger pass plays downfield.
When Prescott and Mahomes watch film of one another, they see more than footwork, technique, and fundamentals.
"His competitiveness; he never believes he’s out of the game, thinks he can make every throw," Prescott told reporters on Thursday. "That’s huge at that position just to have that confidence. I think it goes a long way in bleeding to your other teammates. Those guys feeding off that as well. It’s huge. And he’s a big-time play maker. He’s a great player. MVP obviously, Super Bowl MVP; special talent."
Mahomes earned MVP honors in the 2018 season, his first full season as the Chiefs' starter. In 2019, Mahomes led Kansas City to their first Super Bowl win since 1969, the last year of the AFL. 2020 was the title defense season, and the Chiefs were a victory away from running it back as they fell short to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Super Bowl LV.
When Mahomes was asked what stood out to him about Prescott, a two-time Pro Bowler with a 1-2 record in the postseason, the Chiefs starter pointed to his counterpart's leadership.
Said Mahomes: "He’s a tremendous leader. I think you can see that even when you’re just watching as a fan of him and of them. He’s a tremendous leader, he’s been a starter in the league for a long time now, he’s athletic, you can see that by the way he played in college and he can make a lot of big-time throws."
Prescott currently has the highest passer rating in the NFL entering Week 11 at 110.8. Prescott's 70.3% completion percentage is also second in the NFL.
Even though Prescott, a former 2016 fourth-round pick from Mississippi State, has comparable talent but not the same credentials as Mahomes, a former 2017 first-round pick from Texas Tech, the Cowboys starter doesn't view Week 11 as a measuring stick game for himself but one for the entire team.
"I think for this team going into a hostile environment, playing against a great quarterback, a good offense, a great team; a team, I mean, has been the team of the last few years, I’d say," Prescott said. "Just knowing how explosive they are, the star power they have, as I said, going into their environment, it’s a great challenge for us as a team, a great challenge for our offense and the communication, a challenge for us to stay and play in the ups and the downs."
Mahomes also sees the Cowboys with Prescott as an immense challenge.
"They have a great offense over there, they have a great team over there," said Mahomes. "It will be a great challenge for us to go up against them this week.”
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