Prescott following in Big Ben's rookie year footsteps

The success Dak Prescott found in his rookie season is viewed by many as unprecedented, but at least one man can relate.

Prescott's Dallas Cowboys will line up against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday and the man leading the Steelers' offense knows all about wildly successful rookie campaigns.

Ben Roethlisberger made his debut in 2004. He sat the first game of the season, but was thrust into action in Week 2 when starter Tommy Maddox suffered an injury. Like Prescott, he lost his first game as starter and followed it with a long win streak. Big Ben led Pittsburgh to a 15-1 record and a trip to the AFC title game.

"He's been awesome," Roethlisberger said of Prescott on Wednesday, according to Jeremy Fowler of ESPN. "Very similar to what I had, he's got a great running game, good defense, he's not just managing games, he's taking games over. He's doing some pretty awesome stuff. It's fun to watch."

Similar to Roethlisberger's first campaign, Prescott is holding off the return of an injured starter. Tony Romo is working his way back from the broken bone in his back he suffered in the preseason, but the rookie out of Mississippi State is making it increasingly difficult for the team to pull him.

"I don't even remember at what point Tommy was healthy to come back. I don't know how that went. But when you're just kind of rolling and you're not losing games, it's really hard to kind of change that position especially," Roethlisberger said. "Take nothing away from Tony. He's been doing it at a high level. When you're winning football games, it's really hard to replace that one spot."