Do the Dallas Cowboys have the best quarterback in the NFC East?

In the first installment of our divisional position review, we will examine where the Dallas Cowboys’ Dak Prescott ranks among NFC East quarterbacks.

On Sunday, I wrote about Dallas Cowboys‘ quarterback Dak Prescott and what his future contract might look like. Today, we’ll discuss Dak on the field.

For the next few weeks, I am going to do a divisional position review series that will examine which units rank where within the NFC East. Since Sunday was all about Dak, I might as well continue the theme.

In reality, almost every team in the NFL is all about their quarterback. If you have a good one, you have a chance. If you don’t, you can’t even start a conversation.

Look at the teams who are routinely at the bottom of the league. Since 2010, these five teams have the worst record in the NFL.

TEAM W L T
St.Louis/Los Angeles Rams 51 76 1
Tennessee Titans 51 77 0
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 47 81 0
Jacksonville Jaguars 40 88 0
Cleveland Browns 29 99 0

Now, let’s look at how many different starting quarterbacks each team has had since 2010:

St.Louis/Los Angeles – 10, Tennessee – 10, Tampa Bay – 6, Jacksonville – 7, Cleveland – 15.

Only the Buccaneers and Jaguars have not averaged more than one starter per year. Before you laud their stability, remember that Josh Freeman and Blake Bortles are the responsible parties of their consistency.

Having a quarterback that you can rely on and who would rationally be classified as good matters. This fact is universal, throughout all divisions, including the NFC East.

Last year, the New York Giants went from 11 wins the previous season to three in 2017. Along this same lines, Eli Manning‘s numbers across the board were down in every category.

Kirk Cousins passer rating was slightly less in 2017. Washington won less games as a result. Prescott’s passer rating dropped almost 20 points as Dallas lost four games more in 2017.

Meanwhile, Carson Wentz‘ passer rating went up almost 25 points. Guess which team won the division, the conference and the Super Bowl?

Quarterback matters.

So, as we head into 2018, which NFC East team has the best and worst at the most pivotal position in football?  Let’s rank them as if it were the Olympics.  Only three can make the podium, so we’ll start with the fourth place finisher.