Prescott Guides Dallas Cowboys By Skidding Commanders to Launch Holiday Triple-Header.
Dak Prescott passed for 307 yards and a pair of scoring strikes, and the Dallas Cowboys blew most of an 18-point lead before narrowly defeating the Washington Commanders 30-23 Thursday.
Dallas (7-8-1) scored touchdowns on their initial three drives to establish a 21-3 lead. Washington, falling to 4-12, narrowed the margin to a touchdown on three different occasions, they couldn’t complete the comeback and suffered their tenth defeat in 11 games.
Each squad were already out from playoff contention, which significantly reduced the significance of this contest between longtime NFC East rivals.
Prescott's Historic Performance
Prescott completed 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, equaling Tony Romo’s record of four seasons with 30 or more touchdown passes.
The signal-caller endured six sacks, with three coming from Jer’Zhan Newton.
Commanders' QB Situation
Playing without their top QBs 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 no touchdowns or interceptions.
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 kick by kicker Brandon Aubrey.
The kicker later nailed a 51-yarder to extend the lead to 30-20 with under four minutes to play.
After Prescott threw 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 pass to Deebo Samuel, Johnson’s longest since 2018.
Dallas' Methodical Drives
On their second possession, the Cowboys successfully executed three fourth downs on a 17-play march 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.
