Dak Prescott Leads Dallas Cowboys Beyond Struggling Commanders to Kick Off Holiday Tripleheader.
Dak Prescott passed for 307 yards and a pair of scoring strikes, as Dallas squandered a large portion of an 18-point lead before squeezing past the Washington Commanders 30-23 on Thursday night.
The Cowboys, now 7-8-1, found the end zone on their first three possessions to go up 21-3 lead. Although the Commanders (4-12) closed the deficit to a touchdown on three separate instances, they were unable to finish the comeback and absorbed their 10th loss in 11 games.
Both teams 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 connected on 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 the franchise record of four seasons with 30 or more touchdown passes.
The signal-caller endured six sacks, including three coming from Jer’Zhan Newton.
Commanders' Quarterback Situation
Playing without their top QBs Jayden Daniels (elbow) and Marcus Mariota (quad, hand), Washington turned to 39-year-old journeyman Josh Johnson. In his 10th NFL start and first since 2021, Johnson went 15 for 23 for 198 yards with zero touchdowns and zero picks.
The Commanders' 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 reclaimed a 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 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 pass to Deebo Samuel, Johnson’s biggest play since 2018.
Dallas' Methodical 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 made it three TDs in three drives with an 86-yard touchdown strike to KaVontae Turpin.