Prescott Guides Cowboys Past Struggling Commanders to Launch Holiday Triple-Header.
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 Thursday.
Dallas (7-8-1) found the end zone on their first three possessions to go up 21-3 lead. Washington, falling to 4-12, cut the gap to a touchdown on three separate instances, they couldn’t complete the comeback and absorbed their tenth defeat in 11 games.
Each squad were previously eliminated from playoff contention, which severely lessened the stakes of this matchup between longtime NFC East rivals.
The Quarterback's Record-Tying Performance
Prescott completed 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, equaling Tony Romo’s record of four seasons with 30 or more touchdown passes.
The signal-caller endured six sacks, including three credited to Jer’Zhan Newton.
Washington's QB Dilemma
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 his first in over two years, Johnson was 15 for 23 for 198 yards with zero touchdowns and zero picks.
The Commanders' 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 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 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 completion to Deebo Samuel, Johnson’s longest since 2018.
Dallas' Methodical Drives
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 completed the hat-trick in three drives with an 86-yard touchdown strike to KaVontae Turpin.
