Dak Prescott Leads Cowboys Past Struggling Washington Commanders to Kick Off Christmas Tripleheader.
Dak Prescott threw for 307 yards and two touchdowns, as Dallas squandered a large portion of an 18-point lead before edging the Washington Commanders 30-23 Thursday.
Dallas (7-8-1) found the end zone on their first three possessions to establish a 21-3 lead. Washington, falling to 4-12, narrowed the margin to a touchdown on three separate instances, they couldn’t complete the comeback and absorbed their tenth defeat in 11 games.
Both teams were previously eliminated from postseason consideration, which greatly diminished the significance of this contest between historic NFC East rivals.
Prescott's Record-Tying Outing
Prescott completed 19 of 37 passes and was instrumental on all six of its fourth-down tries. His two TD passes gave him 30 for the season, tying Tony Romo’s record of four seasons with 30 or more touchdown passes.
Prescott shrugged off six sacks, with three coming from defensive tackle Jer’Zhan Newton.
Commanders' Quarterback Situation
Playing without their top QBs Jayden Daniels (elbow) and Marcus Mariota (quad, hand), Washington turned to 39-year-old journeyman Josh Johnson. Making his 10th career start and first since 2021, Johnson went 15 for 23 for 198 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions.
Washington's Scoring Drives
Jacory Croskey-Merritt scored on runs of 10 and 72 yards for Washington. The latter touchdown got the Commanders to 24-17 in the third quarter, but Dallas reclaimed a double-digit lead with a 52-yard kick by Brandon Aubrey.
The kicker later nailed a 51-yarder to extend the lead to 30-20 with under four minutes to play.
After Prescott threw to tight end Jake Ferguson on the first possession, Johnson completed three passes for 68 yards to get Washington to 7-3. A crucial connection was a 41-yard completion to Deebo Samuel, Johnson’s biggest play since 2018.
Cowboys' Sustained Drives
On their second possession, the Cowboys successfully executed three fourth downs on a lengthy, 17-play drive that ended with a touchdown run by Javonte Williams. Prescott then completed the hat-trick in three drives with an 86-yard touchdown strike to KaVontae Turpin.
