Dak Prescott Leads Cowboys Past Reeling Commanders to Kick Off Christmas Tripleheader.
Dak Prescott threw for 307 yards and a pair of scoring strikes, as Dallas blew most of an 18-point lead before edging the Washington Commanders 30-23 on Thursday night.
The Cowboys, now 7-8-1, scored touchdowns on their first three possessions to go up 21-3 lead. Washington, falling to 4-12, closed the deficit to a touchdown on three separate instances, 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 stakes of this matchup 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 two TD passes gave him 30 for the season, equaling Tony Romo’s record of four seasons with at least 30 touchdown passes.
The signal-caller endured six sacks, including three credited to Jer’Zhan Newton.
Washington's 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 his first in over two years, Johnson was 15 for 23 for 198 yards with zero touchdowns and zero picks.
Washington's Offensive Highlights
Jacory Croskey-Merritt scored on runs of 10 and 72 yards for Washington. The latter touchdown got the Commanders to 24-17 in the second half, but Dallas reclaimed a double-digit lead with a 52-yard kick by kicker 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 went 3 for 3 for 68 yards to get Washington to 7-3. A crucial connection was a 41-yard completion to Deebo Samuel, Johnson’s longest since 2018.
Dallas' Sustained Possessions
On their second possession, 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 scoring pass to KaVontae Turpin.
