Former Indianapolis Colts center and current analyst Jeff Saturday made a comment on Wednesday that upset Stephen A. Smith on ESPN First Take. Saturday made the point that Dak Prescott is facing similar questions that Peyton Manning faced early in his career. Prescott has been impressive during the regular season but has struggled in the postseason. Manning is arguably the greatest regular season QB of all-time but endured his share of frustrations in the postseason, although he did end up winning two Super Bowls.
Smith wasn't having any part of the comparison, though.
“The knock against him (Manning) was that he couldn't beat (Tom) Brady! This man was running the offense,” Smith exclaimed. “He was calling his own plays… We were like anytime you run into Bill Belichick and Tom Brady you going to fall! I'm not saying they didn't say those things about him but that was the prevalent issue. Dak Prescott was never given the responsibility, am I lying about that Jeff?”
Smith later added that Manning had far more “responsibility” within the Colts offense as compared to Prescott's role within the Cowboys offense.
“The responsibility that was on Dak Prescott's shoulders doesn't come remotely close to the responsibility that was on Peyton Manning's shoulders! Y'all got to be kidding me! Y'all can't say this on national television! You can't do this, you can't!”
What exactly was Jeff Saturday's comparison?
It is worth noting that Saturday spent 13 of his 14 NFL seasons playing with the Colts and Peyton Manning. Saturday wasn't attempting to compare Manning and Prescott's talent. Manning is unquestionably the better QB. Sure, Prescott recently received a lucrative contract but he's not on Manning's level yet.
However, Saturday's point should not be overlooked. He was stating that both Prescott and Manning dealt with similar questions in their careers. Manning was far from perfect in the postseason, something that can be said about Prescott as well. Of course, Manning did have to play against the best QB of all-time in Tom Brady on a consistent basis. Regardless, the storylines surrounding Prescott and Manning's playoff performances are fairly similar.
Manning helped to improve his postseason reputation by winning two Super Bowls, one with the Colts and another with the Denver Broncos. Prescott can do himself a massive favor by leading the Cowboys to the Super Bowl.
The fact is that Prescott is a good quarterback. He was a legitimate MVP candidate in 2023 after leading the league with 36 passing touchdowns and 410 completions. Prescott added 4,516 passing yards. Nevertheless, he is still known as a QB who hasn't lived up to expectations in the big moments. Prescott is hoping to change that narrative this season.
Stephen A. Smith's take on Dak Prescott-Peyton Manning comparison
Smith made the point that the primary question facing Manning was his struggles against Brady. That was certainly a question mark, but Manning's overall playoff performance had uncertainty as well.
Smith clearly had no intention of comparing Prescott and Manning as overall quarterbacks. The ESPN analyst claimed that Manning had far more responsibility for the Colts. Smith isn't wrong, but Saturday's point also should not be ignored.
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