With one game to go, Prescott’s 23 touchdown passes ties him with Andrew Luck for third
on the all-time rookie list, now behind just Peyton Manning and Russell Wilson (26). His completion percentage (68.1) is the best for a rookie passer ever (minimum 150 attempts). His interception percentage (picks per throw) is less than 1 percent (0.89), which is the lowest ever for a rookie, and his 23–4 touchdown-to-interception ratio is the best of all time. His passer rating (105.6) is the highest ever (post-merger) for a rookie, and let’s not forget his ability to run: His six rushing touchdowns are tied for fourth-most ever.
No matter how you slice it, Prescott’s season stacks up against all of the best rookie performances. Manning still co-owns the rookie-touchdowns record with Wilson, sure, but he also threw 28 picks, completed just 56.7 percent of his passes, and compiled a 71.2 passer rating in 1998. (Also, his team won just three games.) Luck’s high-volume passing as a rookie will always be hard to match — he did throw for a rookie-record 4,374 yards for the Colts in 2012 — but he completed just 54.1 percent of his 627 passes (almost 200 more than Prescott’s 451 attempts this season) and threw 18 picks. Cam Newton’s rookie year was unbelievable in its own way: His 4,051 passing yards and 21 touchdowns — plus 706 rush yards and 14 rushing touchdowns — in 2011 is insane, but Newton completed less than 60 percent of his passes and threw 17 picks.