Prescott Leads Dallas Cowboys Beyond Struggling Washington Commanders to Begin Christmas Tripleheader.

Dak Prescott threw for 307 yards and two touchdowns, as Dallas squandered a large portion of an 18-point lead before edging the Washington Commanders 30-23 Thursday.

The Cowboys, now 7-8-1, scored touchdowns on their initial three drives to build a 21-3 lead. Although the Commanders (4-12) cut the gap to a touchdown on three separate instances, they were unable to finish the comeback and absorbed their 10th loss in 11 games.

Each squad were already out from postseason consideration, which severely lessened the importance of this contest between historic NFC East rivals.

The Quarterback's Historic Outing

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, tying the franchise record of four seasons with 30 or more touchdown passes.

The signal-caller endured six sacks, with three coming from defensive tackle Jer’Zhan Newton.

Commanders' QB Dilemma

Playing without their top QBs 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 was 15 for 23 for 198 yards with zero touchdowns and zero picks.

The Commanders' Offensive Highlights

Jacory Croskey-Merritt scored on runs of 10 and 72 yards for Washington. The 72-yard scamper got the Commanders to 24-17 in the third quarter, but Dallas restored its double-digit lead with a 52-yard field goal 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. The key play was a 41-yard completion to Deebo Samuel, Johnson’s longest since 2018.

Cowboys' Sustained Possessions

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