Dak Prescott Pilots Cowboys Beyond Reeling Commanders to Launch Christmas Three-Game Slate.
Dak Prescott passed for 307 yards and two touchdowns, and the Dallas Cowboys blew most of an 18-point lead before squeezing past the Washington Commanders 30-23 on Thursday night.
Dallas (7-8-1) scored touchdowns on their initial three drives to go up 21-3 lead. Washington, falling to 4-12, cut the gap to a touchdown on three separate instances, they were unable to finish the comeback and absorbed their 10th loss in 11 games.
Each squad were already out from postseason consideration, which severely lessened the importance of this matchup between historic NFC East rivals.
The Quarterback's Historic Outing
Prescott connected on 19 of 37 passes and helped Dallas convert all six of its fourth-down tries. His two TD passes gave him 30 for the season, tying the franchise record of four seasons with 30 or more touchdown passes.
The signal-caller endured six sacks, with three credited to defensive tackle Jer’Zhan Newton.
Commanders' QB Dilemma
Playing without their top QBs Jayden Daniels (elbow) and Marcus Mariota (quad, hand), Washington turned to 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.
Washington's Scoring Drives
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 restored its double-digit lead with a 52-yard kick by kicker Brandon Aubrey.
Aubrey added a 51-yarder to make it 30-20 with 3:59 remaining.
After Prescott threw to tight end Jake Ferguson on the game’s opening drive, Johnson went 3 for 3 for 68 yards to get Washington to 7-3. The key play was a 41-yard pass to Deebo Samuel, Johnson’s longest since 2018.
Dallas' Methodical Possessions
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 made it three TDs in three drives with an 86-yard scoring pass to KaVontae Turpin.
