Prescott Guides Dallas Cowboys Past Reeling Commanders to Kick Off Christmas Three-Game Slate.
Dak Prescott accumulated 307 yards and two touchdowns, and the Dallas Cowboys squandered a large portion of an 18-point lead before edging 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) narrowed the margin to a touchdown on three separate instances, they couldn’t complete the comeback and suffered their tenth defeat in 11 games.
Both teams were already out from playoff contention, which severely lessened the stakes of this matchup between historic NFC East rivals.
The Quarterback's Historic Outing
Prescott connected on 19 of 37 passes and was instrumental on all six of its fourth-down attempts. His two TD passes gave him 30 for the season, equaling Tony Romo’s record of four seasons with at least 30 touchdown passes.
The signal-caller endured six sacks, including three credited to Jer’Zhan Newton.
Washington's QB Situation
Forced to play minus injured quarterbacks Jayden Daniels (elbow) and Marcus Mariota (quad, hand), Washington called upon veteran Josh Johnson. In his 10th NFL start and his first in over two years, Johnson went 15 for 23 for 198 yards with zero touchdowns and zero picks.
Washington's Scoring Drives
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 third quarter, 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 3:59 remaining.
After Prescott threw to tight end Jake Ferguson on the game’s opening drive, Johnson went 3 for 3 for 68 yards to get Washington to 7-3. The key play was a 41-yard pass to Deebo Samuel, Johnson’s longest since 2018.
Dallas' Sustained Drives
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 completed the hat-trick in three drives with an 86-yard touchdown strike to KaVontae Turpin.
