Dak Prescott Guides Cowboys Past Reeling Washington Commanders to Begin Holiday Three-Game Slate.
Dak Prescott accumulated 307 yards and a pair of scoring strikes, and the Dallas Cowboys blew most of an 18-point lead before edging 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. Washington, falling to 4-12, closed the deficit to a touchdown on three different occasions, they couldn’t complete the comeback and suffered their tenth defeat in 11 games.
Both teams were previously eliminated from playoff contention, which severely lessened the significance of this contest between historic NFC East rivals.
The Quarterback's Record-Tying Performance
Prescott connected on 19 of 37 passes and was instrumental on 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 30 or more touchdown passes.
Prescott shrugged off six sacks, with three credited to Jer’Zhan Newton.
Commanders' Quarterback Dilemma
Forced to play minus injured quarterbacks Jayden Daniels (elbow) and Marcus Mariota (quad, hand), Washington called upon veteran Josh Johnson. In his 10th NFL start and his first in over two years, Johnson went 15 for 23 for 198 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions.
The Commanders' Scoring Drives
Jacory Croskey-Merritt found paydirt with runs of 10 and 72 yards for Washington. The 72-yard scamper got the Commanders to 24-17 in the third quarter, but Dallas restored its double-digit lead with a 52-yard kick by Brandon Aubrey.
Aubrey added 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. A crucial connection was a 41-yard completion to Deebo Samuel, Johnson’s longest since 2018.
Dallas' Sustained Drives
On their next drive, the Cowboys converted 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 scoring pass to KaVontae Turpin.
