Dak Prescott Leads Dallas Cowboys Past Skidding Commanders to Begin Christmas Tripleheader.
Dak Prescott accumulated 307 yards and a pair of scoring strikes, as Dallas squandered a large portion of an 18-point lead before edging the Washington Commanders 30-23 on Thursday night.
The Cowboys, now 7-8-1, scored touchdowns on their initial three drives to establish a 21-3 lead. Although the Commanders (4-12) closed the deficit to a touchdown on three separate instances, they couldn’t complete the comeback and absorbed their 10th loss in 11 games.
Both teams were previously eliminated from playoff contention, which greatly diminished the stakes of this contest between longtime NFC East rivals.
Prescott's Record-Tying Performance
Prescott connected on 19 of 37 passes and was instrumental on all six of its fourth-down attempts. His pair of touchdown throws gave him 30 for the season, matching the franchise record of four seasons with at least 30 touchdown passes.
Prescott shrugged off six sacks, with three coming from defensive tackle Jer’Zhan Newton.
Washington's QB Dilemma
Forced to play minus injured quarterbacks Jayden Daniels (elbow) and Marcus Mariota (quad, hand), Washington turned to 39-year-old journeyman 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' 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 kick by kicker Brandon Aubrey.
Aubrey added a 51-yarder to extend the lead to 30-20 with under four minutes to play.
Following a Prescott touchdown pass to tight end Jake Ferguson on the game’s opening drive, Johnson completed three passes 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.
Dallas' Sustained Drives
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 touchdown strike to KaVontae Turpin.
