Prescott Pilots Cowboys Beyond Skidding Washington Commanders to Begin Christmas Triple-Header.
Dak Prescott passed for 307 yards and a pair of scoring strikes, as Dallas blew most of an 18-point lead before squeezing past the Washington Commanders 30-23 on Thursday night.
Dallas (7-8-1) found the end zone on their initial three drives to go up 21-3 lead. Although the Commanders (4-12) cut the gap to a touchdown on three separate instances, they were unable to finish the comeback and suffered their tenth defeat in 11 games.
Each squad were already out from postseason consideration, which greatly diminished the significance of this matchup between historic NFC East rivals.
The Quarterback's Record-Tying Outing
Prescott connected on 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, equaling 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' Quarterback Situation
Playing without their top QBs Jayden Daniels (elbow) and Marcus Mariota (quad, hand), Washington called upon 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.
Washington's Offensive Highlights
Jacory Croskey-Merritt found paydirt with runs of 10 and 72 yards for Washington. The latter touchdown got the Commanders to 24-17 in the second half, but Dallas restored its 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 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. The key play was a 41-yard pass to Deebo Samuel, Johnson’s biggest play since 2018.
Cowboys' Sustained Possessions
On their next drive, the Cowboys successfully executed three fourth downs on a lengthy, 17-play drive that culminated in a touchdown run by Javonte Williams. Prescott then completed the hat-trick in three drives with an 86-yard scoring pass to KaVontae Turpin.
