Dak Prescott Leads Cowboys Past Reeling Commanders to Begin Christmas Three-Game Slate.
The Cowboys' quarterback accumulated 307 yards and two touchdowns, as Dallas squandered a large portion of an 18-point lead before squeezing past the Washington Commanders 30-23 Thursday.
Dallas (7-8-1) found the end zone on their first three possessions to go up 21-3 lead. Although the Commanders (4-12) narrowed the margin to a touchdown on three different occasions, they couldn’t complete the comeback and absorbed their tenth defeat in 11 games.
Each squad were already out from playoff contention, which significantly reduced the significance of this matchup between longtime NFC East rivals.
Prescott's Record-Tying Outing
Prescott connected on 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, matching Tony Romo’s record of four seasons with 30 or more touchdown passes.
The signal-caller endured six sacks, including three credited to Jer’Zhan Newton.
Commanders' Quarterback Dilemma
Playing without their top QBs Jayden Daniels (elbow) and Marcus Mariota (quad, hand), Washington turned to veteran Josh Johnson. In his 10th NFL start and first since 2021, Johnson went 15 for 23 for 198 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions.
Washington's Offensive Highlights
Jacory Croskey-Merritt found paydirt with runs of 10 and 72 yards for Washington. The latter touchdown got the Commanders to 24-17 in the third quarter, but Dallas restored its double-digit lead with a 52-yard field goal by kicker Brandon Aubrey.
The kicker later nailed a 51-yarder to extend the lead to 30-20 with under four minutes to play.
Following a Prescott touchdown pass to tight end Jake Ferguson on the first possession, Johnson went 3 for 3 for 68 yards to get Washington to 7-3. The key play was a 41-yard completion to Deebo Samuel, Johnson’s biggest play since 2018.
Dallas' Sustained Possessions
On their next drive, the Cowboys successfully executed three fourth downs on a 17-play march that ended with a touchdown run by Javonte Williams. Prescott then completed the hat-trick in three drives with an 86-yard scoring pass to KaVontae Turpin.
