Prescott Pilots Dallas Cowboys Past Skidding Washington Commanders to Begin Christmas Triple-Header.

Dak Prescott threw for 307 yards and two touchdowns, as Dallas blew most of an 18-point lead before narrowly defeating the Washington Commanders 30-23 on Thursday night.

The Cowboys, now 7-8-1, found the end zone on their initial three drives to build a 21-3 lead. Washington, falling to 4-12, cut the gap to a touchdown on three different occasions, they couldn’t complete the comeback and absorbed their tenth defeat in 11 games.

Each squad were previously eliminated from postseason consideration, which significantly reduced the importance of this matchup between historic NFC East rivals.

The Quarterback's Record-Tying Outing

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 Tony Romo’s record of four seasons with at least 30 touchdown passes.

The signal-caller endured six sacks, with three coming from Jer’Zhan Newton.

Washington's Quarterback Dilemma

Playing without injured quarterbacks Jayden Daniels (elbow) and Marcus Mariota (quad, hand), Washington turned to 39-year-old journeyman Josh Johnson. Making his 10th career start and first since 2021, Johnson was 15 for 23 for 198 yards with zero touchdowns and zero picks.

Washington's Offensive Highlights

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 second half, but Dallas reclaimed a double-digit lead with a 52-yard kick by 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. A crucial connection was a 41-yard completion to Deebo Samuel, Johnson’s biggest play since 2018.

Cowboys' Methodical Possessions

On their second possession, 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 touchdown strike to KaVontae Turpin.