Dak Prescott Guides Cowboys By Struggling Washington Commanders to Begin Christmas Tripleheader.
The Cowboys' quarterback passed for 307 yards and a pair of scoring strikes, and the Dallas Cowboys squandered a large portion of an 18-point lead before edging the Washington Commanders 30-23 on Thursday night.
Dallas (7-8-1) scored touchdowns on their first three possessions to build a 21-3 lead. Although the Commanders (4-12) narrowed the margin to a touchdown on three separate instances, they couldn’t complete the comeback and absorbed their 10th loss in 11 games.
Each squad were already out from postseason consideration, which significantly reduced the stakes of this contest between longtime NFC East rivals.
Prescott's Record-Tying Performance
Prescott completed 19 of 37 passes and was instrumental on all six of its fourth-down tries. His pair of touchdown throws gave him 30 for the season, matching the franchise record of four seasons with 30 or more touchdown passes.
The signal-caller endured six sacks, with three credited to Jer’Zhan Newton.
Washington's Quarterback Dilemma
Forced to play minus their top QBs Jayden Daniels (elbow) and Marcus Mariota (quad, hand), Washington turned to 39-year-old journeyman Josh Johnson. Making his 10th career start and his first in over two years, Johnson was 15 for 23 for 198 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions.
Washington's 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 third quarter, but Dallas reclaimed a double-digit lead with a 52-yard field goal by kicker Brandon Aubrey.
The kicker later nailed a 51-yarder to make it 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 pass to Deebo Samuel, Johnson’s biggest play since 2018.
Cowboys' Methodical Possessions
On their next drive, the Cowboys successfully executed 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.
