Prescott Guides Dallas Cowboys By Skidding Washington Commanders to Kick Off Holiday Triple-Header.

Dak Prescott threw for 307 yards and a pair of scoring strikes, and the Dallas Cowboys squandered a large portion of an 18-point lead before squeezing past the Washington Commanders 30-23 on Thursday night.

The Cowboys, now 7-8-1, scored touchdowns on their first three possessions to establish a 21-3 lead. Although the Commanders (4-12) cut the gap to a touchdown on three separate instances, they couldn’t complete the comeback and suffered their 10th loss in 11 games.

Each squad were previously eliminated from playoff contention, which significantly reduced the importance of this contest between longtime NFC East rivals.

Prescott's Historic Performance

Prescott completed 19 of 37 passes and was instrumental on all six of its fourth-down tries. His pair of touchdown throws gave him 30 for the season, matching the franchise record of four seasons with 30 or more touchdown passes.

The signal-caller endured six sacks, with three credited to Jer’Zhan Newton.

Commanders' Quarterback Dilemma

Playing without injured quarterbacks Jayden Daniels (elbow) and Marcus Mariota (quad, hand), Washington turned to veteran Josh Johnson. In his 10th NFL start and his first in over two years, Johnson went 15 for 23 for 198 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions.

The Commanders' Scoring Drives

Jacory Croskey-Merritt found paydirt with 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 kick by Brandon Aubrey.

The kicker later nailed a 51-yarder to extend the lead to 30-20 with 3:59 remaining.

After Prescott threw to tight end Jake Ferguson on the game’s opening drive, Johnson completed three passes for 68 yards to get Washington to 7-3. The key play was a 41-yard pass to Deebo Samuel, Johnson’s biggest play since 2018.

Dallas' Methodical Drives

On their second possession, the Cowboys successfully executed 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.