Dak Prescott Guides Dallas Cowboys By Struggling Washington Commanders to Begin Holiday Tripleheader.
Dak Prescott accumulated 307 yards and a pair of scoring strikes, as Dallas squandered a large portion of an 18-point lead before edging the Washington Commanders 30-23 on Thursday night.
Dallas (7-8-1) found the end zone on their first three possessions to go up 21-3 lead. Although the Commanders (4-12) cut the gap to a touchdown on three different occasions, they were unable to finish the comeback and suffered their 10th loss in 11 games.
Each squad were already out from playoff contention, which severely lessened the significance of this matchup between longtime 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, tying Tony Romo’s record of four seasons with at least 30 touchdown passes.
The signal-caller endured six sacks, with three coming from Jer’Zhan Newton.
Washington's QB Situation
Forced to play minus injured quarterbacks Jayden Daniels (elbow) and Marcus Mariota (quad, hand), Washington turned to 39-year-old journeyman Josh Johnson. In his 10th NFL start and first since 2021, Johnson was 15 for 23 for 198 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions.
Washington's Offensive Highlights
Jacory Croskey-Merritt scored on runs of 10 and 72 yards for Washington. The latter touchdown got the Commanders to 24-17 in the third quarter, 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.
After Prescott threw 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 longest since 2018.
Cowboys' Sustained Possessions
On their next drive, the Cowboys converted three fourth downs on a lengthy, 17-play drive that ended with a touchdown run by Javonte Williams. Prescott then made it three TDs in three drives with an 86-yard scoring pass to KaVontae Turpin.
