Prescott Pilots Dallas Cowboys Beyond Struggling Washington Commanders to Kick Off Christmas Triple-Header.
Dak Prescott passed for 307 yards and two touchdowns, and the Dallas Cowboys squandered a large portion of an 18-point lead before squeezing past the Washington Commanders 30-23 on Thursday night.
Dallas (7-8-1) scored touchdowns on their first three possessions 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.
Each squad were already out from postseason consideration, which severely lessened the stakes of this contest between longtime NFC East rivals.
Prescott's Record-Tying Outing
Prescott connected on 19 of 37 passes and helped Dallas convert all six of its fourth-down tries. His pair of touchdown throws gave him 30 for the season, tying the franchise record of four seasons with at least 30 touchdown passes.
The signal-caller endured six sacks, including three coming from 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 first since 2021, Johnson was 15 for 23 for 198 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions.
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 field goal by kicker Brandon Aubrey.
Aubrey added 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 went 3 for 3 for 68 yards to get Washington to 7-3. The key play was a 41-yard pass to Deebo Samuel, Johnson’s longest since 2018.
Dallas' Methodical Drives
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.
