Is Brock Purdy as good as his numbers say he is? Which is the real Dak Prescott; the one from Monday night or the NFL’s interception leader? Almost every conversation about this weekend’s titanic clash revolves around these digestible narratives. Those in the know, know it’s much more nuanced than the simple answer. There are eye-test anecdotes people tend to rely on; but when was their last eye exam, anyway?
No, the numbers tell a much more complete story. Analytics spit in the already-mentioned eye of the common refrain of lies, damn lies and statistics. They can’t explain what’s going to happen every time, but they certainly frame the picture of what is most likely to occur. So for this Cowboys-49ers rematch and latest chapter in an epic rivalry, it only makes sense to dive into the analytics to answer the opening two questions.
For that, we brought in the big gun. Daniel Houston, better known on Twitter by the handle CowboysStats (a must follow), lent us his insight on the fascinating QBs, their offenses and the how they intersect with each other in a detailed Q&A session.