Prescott Pilots Dallas Cowboys Beyond Skidding Washington Commanders to Begin Holiday Tripleheader.
Dak Prescott accumulated 307 yards and two touchdowns, as Dallas squandered a large portion of an 18-point lead before squeezing past the Washington Commanders 30-23 Thursday.
Dallas (7-8-1) scored touchdowns on their first three possessions to go up 21-3 lead. Although the Commanders (4-12) narrowed the margin to a touchdown on three different occasions, they couldn’t complete the comeback and suffered their 10th loss in 11 games.
Both teams were previously eliminated from playoff contention, which severely lessened the significance of this matchup between historic NFC East rivals.
Prescott's Historic Outing
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, matching Tony Romo’s record of four seasons with 30 or more touchdown passes.
The signal-caller endured six sacks, including three credited to defensive tackle Jer’Zhan Newton.
Commanders' QB Dilemma
Forced to play minus their top QBs Jayden Daniels (elbow) and Marcus Mariota (quad, hand), Washington turned to veteran Josh Johnson. In his 10th NFL start and first since 2021, Johnson was 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 latter touchdown got the Commanders to 24-17 in the second half, but Dallas restored its double-digit lead with a 52-yard field goal by Brandon Aubrey.
The kicker later nailed 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 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 biggest play since 2018.
Cowboys' Methodical Possessions
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 touchdown strike to KaVontae Turpin.
