Prescott Pilots Cowboys Past Struggling Commanders to Begin Christmas Triple-Header.
Dak Prescott passed for 307 yards and a pair of scoring strikes, as Dallas blew most of an 18-point lead before squeezing past the Washington Commanders 30-23 Thursday.
Dallas (7-8-1) found the end zone on their initial three drives to establish a 21-3 lead. Washington, falling to 4-12, cut the gap to a touchdown on three different occasions, they couldn’t complete the comeback and absorbed their tenth defeat in 11 games.
Both teams were already out from playoff contention, which greatly diminished the significance of this matchup between longtime NFC East rivals.
The Quarterback's Record-Tying Outing
Prescott connected on 19 of 37 passes and was instrumental on all six of its fourth-down attempts. His two TD passes gave him 30 for the season, matching Tony Romo’s record of four seasons with 30 or more touchdown passes.
Prescott shrugged off six sacks, with three credited to Jer’Zhan Newton.
Commanders' Quarterback Dilemma
Playing without injured quarterbacks Jayden Daniels (elbow) and Marcus Mariota (quad, hand), Washington turned to veteran Josh Johnson. Making his 10th career start and first since 2021, Johnson was 15 for 23 for 198 yards with zero touchdowns and zero picks.
The Commanders' Offensive Highlights
Jacory Croskey-Merritt scored on runs of 10 and 72 yards for Washington. The 72-yard scamper got the Commanders to 24-17 in the second half, but Dallas restored its double-digit lead with a 52-yard kick by kicker Brandon Aubrey.
Aubrey added a 51-yarder to make it 30-20 with under four minutes to play.
Following a Prescott touchdown pass to tight end Jake Ferguson on the game’s opening drive, 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' Methodical Possessions
On their next drive, the Cowboys converted three fourth downs on a lengthy, 17-play drive that ended with a touchdown run by Javonte Williams. Prescott then made it three TDs in three drives with an 86-yard scoring pass to KaVontae Turpin.
