Dak Prescott Guides Cowboys By Reeling Commanders to Kick Off Christmas Triple-Header.
The Cowboys' quarterback threw for 307 yards and two touchdowns, as Dallas blew most of an 18-point lead before squeezing past the Washington Commanders 30-23 Thursday.
The Cowboys, now 7-8-1, scored touchdowns on their first three possessions to build a 21-3 lead. Washington, falling to 4-12, narrowed the margin to a touchdown on three separate instances, they were unable to finish the comeback and absorbed their tenth defeat in 11 games.
Both teams were previously eliminated from playoff contention, which greatly diminished the importance of this contest between longtime NFC East rivals.
Prescott's Historic Outing
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, tying the franchise record of four seasons with at least 30 touchdown passes.
Prescott shrugged off six sacks, with three coming from Jer’Zhan Newton.
Washington's Quarterback Dilemma
Forced to play minus injured quarterbacks Jayden Daniels (elbow) and Marcus Mariota (quad, hand), Washington called upon veteran 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.
The Commanders' 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 reclaimed a 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 went 3 for 3 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.
Dallas' Sustained Drives
On their next drive, the Cowboys successfully executed 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 scoring pass to KaVontae Turpin.
