Dak Prescott’s interception-free streka may have come to an end, but a three TD performance in Green Bay as Cowboys fans taking his side as the return of Tony Romo looms.

Dak Prescott’s path to an NFL starting quarterback job is straight out of a million cheesy movies. Established star (in this case, Tony Romo) gets hurt, newcomer fills in, team (in this case, the Cowboys) plays well, controversy ensues, rookie keeps his job.

But just because this same narrative played out in Remember the Titans and then in real-life to Tom Brady doesn’t mean it’s the typical route to a starting job under center. Prescott’s Hollywood path to becoming the Cowboys’ first-team quarterback got us thinking: How did the NFL’s other starting signal-callers get their gigs? We break down each of the 32 quarterbacks by category:

Started for lack of a better option

PHILADELPHIA, PA - OCTOBER 23:  Sam Bradford #8 looks to throw during warmups before taking on the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field on October 23, 2016 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images)
PHILADELPHIA, PA – OCTOBER 23: Sam Bradford #8 looks to throw during warmups before taking on the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field on October 23, 2016 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images)

Tyrod Taylor, Bills
Cody Kessler, Browns
Trevor Siemian, Broncos
Ryan Fitzpatrick, Jets
Sam Bradford, Vikings
Colin Kaepernick, 49ers

We won’t spend much time on these guys because most of them are, to put it brusquely, scrubs. But they all share the same basic origin story: They became starters not because their team was super-excited about them, but because there was no one better on the depth chart.

Some of them (Bradford, Hoyer) are filling in for injured starters, some of them (Kaepernick, Fitzpatrick) were once-upon-a-time true starting-caliber QBs, and some of them just got the nod because the coach looked around and couldn’t find anyone else. No more than two or three of these guys will be starting for their same teams next year.

Signed big free-agent contracts

Drew Brees
NEW ORLEANS, LA – NOVEMBER 01: Drew Brees #9 of the New Orleans Saints celebrates a touchdown during the second quarter of a game against the New York Giants at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome on November 1, 2015 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)

Brock Osweiler, Texans
Drew Brees, Saints

As we’ll soon see, once a team finds a starting-caliber quarterback, it doesn’t usually let him get away. Brees departed San Diego for New Orleans because the Chargers wanted to let Philip Rivers play. The Broncos let Osweiler sign with the Texans because… well, maybe they knew something we didn’t.

Arrived in a major trade

Carson Palmer, Cardinals
Alex Smith, Chiefs
Jay Cutler, Bears

Palmer, Smith and Cutler are not the only starting quarterbacks to reach their current team in a trade (so did several of the “lack of a better option” QBs, and a duo to be addressed later), but they are the only ones who were traded as established NFL players. Palmer was coming off two disappointing seasons in Oakland when the Raiders shipped him to Arizona in 2013 for two low draft picks. Smith had already been displaced by Colin Kaepernick in San Francisco when the Chiefs sent the 49ers two draft picks to get him. Cutler had worn out his welcome in Denver and in 2009 was traded to Chicago for Kyle Orton and three draft picks.

Drafted (relatively) high, started from Day One

Carolina Panthers v Seattle Seahawks

Matt Ryan, Falcons
Joe Flacco, Ravens
Cam Newton, Panthers
Matthew Stafford, Lions
Andrew Luck, Colts
Derek Carr, Raiders
Russell Wilson, Seahawks
Carson Wentz, Eagles
Jameis Winston, Buccaneers
Marcus Mariota, Titans
Ryan Tannehill, Dolphins
Andy Dalton, Bengals

This is how most NFL quarterbacks get their starts these days. They are drafted, usually near the top of the the first round, and names as starters from the get-go. More than half the league’s starting quarterbacks were drafted and developed in-house, and most of those guys were thrown into the fire at the start of their rookie seasons.

Of this group of 11, four were picked No. 1 overall and nine were selected in the top 10. In some cases, they were effectively crowned starter the day training camp started. In other cases, they had to beat out a veteran or two. For the most part, their origin stories aren’t terribly interesting.

The most fascinating players in this group are Wilson and Carr, who were drafted in the second and third round, respectively, but started immediately and have become two of the league’s best. Wilson got his job in 2012, beating out Matt Flynn, whom the Seahawks had just handed a three-year, $20.5 million contract. It was fairly jarring at the time to see a third-round pick starting over an expensive free agent signee, but it has certainly worked out well for Seattle. Two years later, Carr beat out Matt Schaub under somewhat similar circumstances. However, that wasn’t as surprising given that Carr had been a higher pick than Russell and Schaub was coming off an awful season with the Texans.

Drafted high, had to wait their turn

Seattle Seahawks v Green Bay Packers

Aaron Rodgers, Packers
Eli Manning, Giants
Philip Rivers, Chargers
Blake Bortles, Jaguars
Jared Goff, Rams

All six of these quarterbacks were drafted in the first round, but each of them were forced to wait a bit before earning the starting QB jobs. For Bortles, that meant three games sitting behind Chad Henne. For Manning, it meant trading off with Kurt Warner for a season. For Goff, it meant backing up Case Keenum for nine games before being named starter just this week. Those three more or less fit in the “since day one” category — they were high first-round picks who started games as rookies — but had a slightly bumpier road than the Matthew Staffords and Jameis Winstons of the world.

Rodgers and Rivers represent a more old-school path to a starting QB job. Both served as apprentices for significant periods of time before being handed the reigns. Rivers spent two seasons behind Drew Brees and became the starter only once Brees left as a free agent. Rodgers lingered for three seasons, now an almost unthinkable amount of time, while waiting for Brett Favre to retire.

It’s worth noting that Rivers and Manning were not technically picked by their current teams, but were in fact traded for each other on draft day, because Manning didn’t want to play in San Diego. Twelve years later, it’s safe to say things turned out OK for both of them.

Prescotts

Chicago Bears v New England Patriots

Tom Brady, Patriots
Ben Roethlisberger, Steelers
Dak Prescott, Cowboys
Andy Dalton, Bengals
Kirk Cousins, Redskins

These guys could also be slotted in other categories (Brady and Cousins in “lack of a better option,” Roethlisberger in “had to wait” and Prescott in “since day one”), but it’s worth separating them to recognize their non-traditional routes to relative stardom.

Brady famously took over for Drew Bledsoe back in 2001 and led the Patriots to a Super Bowl victory that same season. Roethlisberger subbed for an injured Tommy Maddox, went 13-0 as a starter and quarterbacked the Steelers to the AFC Championship game. Cousins’ story is a little different. He had started periodically for Washington when Robert Griffin III was hurt, but remained second on the team’s depth chart until finally breaking supplanting Griffin in 2015 after another RG3 injury.

https://vine.co/v/5ItPzTwEEYX

And then there’s Prescott, who got his chance due to an injury to Romo and hasn’t yet looked back. In a way, Prescott combines elements of many these origin stories.

Like Brady, Roethlisberger and Cousins, he seized his opportunity after an incumbent starter got hurt. Like Andrew Luck, Cam Newton and company, he’s been his team’s QB since Day One. And like Wilson and Carr, he wasn’t a can’t-miss prospect but rather a humble mid-round pick. He’s one of 22 quarterbacks currently starting for the team that drafted him (or traded for him on draft-day, in the case of Rivers and Manning) and one of 15 to have assumed that role during his rookie season.

So as impressive and unexpected as Prescott’s success has been this season, maybe he isn’t that special after all.

About Alex Putterman

Alex is a writer and editor for The Comeback and Awful Announcing. He has written for The Atlantic, VICE Sports, MLB.com, SI.com and more. He is a proud alum of Northwestern University and The Daily Northwestern. You can find him on Twitter @AlexPutterman.