National Football League

ICYMI in NFL's Week 3: Rookies Wentz, Prescott stay INT-free

Published Sep. 26, 2016 4:45 a.m. ET

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There's never been quite the sort of clean, composed rookie quarterbacking that Carson Wentz of the Philadelphia Eagles and Dak Prescott of the Dallas Cowboys are producing week after week after week.

Wentz, drafted No. 2 overall out of North Dakota State, is the first rookie QB since 1970 to open a season 3-0 with zero interceptions. His 102 passes without a pick are an NFL record for a first-year player.

Second on that list? Prescott, a fourth-round pick from Mississippi State, with 99 so far.

''Everybody keeps waiting for that rookie mistake and it's not happening,'' Philadelphia safety Malcolm Jenkins said. ''What he's doing is special and it's a testament to his preparation and demeanor.''

He was speaking about his teammate, Wentz, after a 23-for-31 performance that included 301 yards passing and a pair of TDs during a 34-3 victory over Pittsburgh on Sunday. But Jenkins' words also would apply to Prescott, who went 19 of 24 for 248 yards and a touchdown toss to Dez Bryant as Dallas defeated Chicago 31-17 to improve to 2-1 without the injured Tony Romo.

Wasn't all that long ago that folks figured there was no way a guy could make the jump straight from Saturdays to Sundays at the most important position in pro football. The 2012 rookie QB class of Andrew Luck, Robert Griffin III and Russell Wilson went a long way toward changing that thinking.

Now Wentz and Prescott are making things look easy.

Maybe the Rams should think about letting No. 1 overall draft pick Jared Goff take a snap or two?

In case you missed it, here are the other top topics after the NFL season's third Sunday:

`I DON'T REMEMBER': Eventful an afternoon as Odell Beckham Jr. had - he lost a fight with a kicking net , taking a shot to the face from the inanimate object after walloping it with his helmet; he appeared to shed tears on the sideline; he got picked up off his feet in the end zone by nemesis Josh Norman; he got a pregame warning about his behavior from an official; his Giants lost to the Redskins 29-27 - he apparently will not be looking back, fondly or otherwise. That's because OBJ replied, ''I don't remember,'' over and over and over again in response to reporters' questions afterward.

DO-IT-ALL: Cleveland's Terrelle Pryor played QB at Ohio State, tried to stick to that position in the NFL, then shifted to receiver. He had a hand in a bit of everything in a 30-24 overtime loss to Miami, becoming the first player since Frank Gifford 57 years ago with at least 120 yards receiving, 30 passing and 20 rushing in a game. Oh, yeah, and he was in at safety on the final play of the first half, too. ''Dynamic athlete,'' Dolphins defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh said.

FITZ-TRAGIC: No magic from Ryan Fitzpatrick this time. He threw six - yes, that's right, 6! - interceptions in the Jets' 24-3 loss at the Kansas City Chiefs. Somehow, though, that is not a league record. Jim Hardy was picked off eight times in a 1950 game. Perhaps Fitzpatrick (and the Jets' fans) can take heart from this: In his next game, Hardy threw for six TDs.

ANTHEM DEMONSTRATIONS: Players from more than a dozen NFL teams joined in some form of silent demonstration during the national anthem before games, following the lead of San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick. Among them were four Washington Redskins - receivers DeSean Jackson and Rashad Ross, cornerback Greg Toler and tight end Niles Paul - who stood a couple of steps behind the rest of the team on the sideline and held up their right fists.

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Follow Howard Fendrich on Twitter at http://twitter.com/HowardFendrich

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AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and AP NFL Twitter feed: http://twitter.com/AP-NFL

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