Dak Prescott Pilots Cowboys Past Skidding Washington Commanders to Begin Holiday Triple-Header.
The Cowboys' quarterback passed for 307 yards and two touchdowns, and the Dallas Cowboys 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, closed the deficit 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 significantly reduced the stakes of this matchup between longtime NFC East rivals.
Prescott's Record-Tying Performance
Prescott connected on 19 of 37 passes and helped Dallas convert all six of its fourth-down tries. His pair of touchdown throws gave him 30 for the season, tying the franchise record of four seasons with at least 30 touchdown passes.
The signal-caller endured six sacks, including three credited to defensive tackle Jer’Zhan Newton.
Commanders' QB Dilemma
Playing without injured quarterbacks Jayden Daniels (elbow) and Marcus Mariota (quad, hand), Washington called upon 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 zero touchdowns and zero picks.
Washington's 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 field goal by kicker Brandon Aubrey.
The kicker later nailed 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 completed three passes 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.
Cowboys' Sustained Drives
On their next drive, the Cowboys converted three fourth downs on a lengthy, 17-play drive that culminated in a touchdown run by Javonte Williams. Prescott then made it three TDs in three drives with an 86-yard scoring pass to KaVontae Turpin.
