Dak Prescott Guides Dallas Cowboys Past Struggling Washington Commanders to Kick Off Holiday Triple-Header.
The Cowboys' quarterback threw for 307 yards and two touchdowns, and the Dallas Cowboys blew most of an 18-point lead before edging the Washington Commanders 30-23 on Thursday night.
The Cowboys, now 7-8-1, found the end zone on their first three possessions to build a 21-3 lead. Washington, falling to 4-12, narrowed the margin to a touchdown on three different occasions, they couldn’t complete the comeback and suffered their tenth defeat in 11 games.
Both teams were already out 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 helped Dallas convert all six of its fourth-down attempts. His pair of touchdown throws gave him 30 for the season, matching the franchise 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' QB Situation
Playing without injured quarterbacks Jayden Daniels (elbow) and Marcus Mariota (quad, hand), Washington turned to 39-year-old journeyman Josh Johnson. Making his 10th career start and his first in over two years, Johnson was 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 restored its double-digit lead with a 52-yard kick by Brandon Aubrey.
The kicker later nailed a 51-yarder to make it 30-20 with 3:59 remaining.
Following a Prescott touchdown pass 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 pass to Deebo Samuel, Johnson’s longest since 2018.
Dallas' Sustained Possessions
On their next drive, the Cowboys converted 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 touchdown strike to KaVontae Turpin.
