Prescott Pilots Cowboys Past Reeling Washington Commanders to Launch Christmas Three-Game Slate.

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

Dallas (7-8-1) scored touchdowns on their initial three drives to establish a 21-3 lead. Although the Commanders (4-12) cut the gap to a touchdown on three different occasions, they couldn’t complete the comeback and absorbed their 10th loss in 11 games.

Both teams were already out from postseason consideration, which significantly reduced the stakes of this contest between historic 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 two TD passes gave him 30 for the season, matching the franchise record of four seasons with at least 30 touchdown passes.

Prescott shrugged off six sacks, including three coming from defensive tackle Jer’Zhan Newton.

Commanders' Quarterback Situation

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 went 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 kicker Brandon Aubrey.

Aubrey added a 51-yarder to extend the lead to 30-20 with 3:59 remaining.

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 completion to Deebo Samuel, Johnson’s longest since 2018.

Dallas' Sustained Possessions

On their second possession, the Cowboys converted three fourth downs on a 17-play march that culminated in a touchdown run by Javonte Williams. Prescott then completed the hat-trick in three drives with an 86-yard touchdown strike to KaVontae Turpin.