Prescott Pilots Dallas Cowboys Beyond Struggling Commanders to Kick Off Christmas Tripleheader.
Dak Prescott accumulated 307 yards and a pair of scoring strikes, as Dallas blew most of an 18-point lead before narrowly defeating the Washington Commanders 30-23 on Thursday night.
Dallas (7-8-1) found the end zone on their initial three drives to build a 21-3 lead. Although the Commanders (4-12) cut the gap to a touchdown on three separate instances, they couldn’t complete the comeback and suffered their tenth defeat in 11 games.
Each squad were previously eliminated from playoff contention, which significantly reduced the significance of this contest between historic NFC East rivals.
The Quarterback's Historic Outing
Prescott completed 19 of 37 passes and helped Dallas convert all six of its fourth-down tries. His two TD passes gave him 30 for the season, tying Tony Romo’s record of four seasons with at least 30 touchdown passes.
The signal-caller endured six sacks, with three credited to defensive tackle Jer’Zhan Newton.
Commanders' Quarterback Dilemma
Forced to play minus their top QBs Jayden Daniels (elbow) and Marcus Mariota (quad, hand), Washington called upon veteran Josh Johnson. In his 10th NFL start and first since 2021, Johnson was 15 for 23 for 198 yards with zero touchdowns and zero picks.
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 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 make it 30-20 with 3:59 remaining.
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 lengthy, 17-play drive 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.