Prescott Leads Dallas Cowboys Past Skidding Washington Commanders to Begin Holiday Triple-Header.

Dak Prescott threw for 307 yards and two touchdowns, and the Dallas Cowboys blew most of an 18-point lead before edging the Washington Commanders 30-23 Thursday.

Dallas (7-8-1) scored touchdowns on their first three possessions to establish a 21-3 lead. Washington, falling to 4-12, cut the gap to a touchdown on three separate instances, they were unable to finish the comeback and absorbed their tenth defeat in 11 games.

Both teams were previously eliminated from postseason consideration, which severely lessened the stakes of this contest 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 pair of touchdown throws 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, including three credited to Jer’Zhan Newton.

Commanders' QB Dilemma

Forced to play minus their top QBs Jayden Daniels (elbow) and Marcus Mariota (quad, hand), Washington turned to veteran Josh Johnson. Making his 10th career start and first since 2021, Johnson was 15 for 23 for 198 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions.

Washington's Scoring Drives

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 kick by Brandon Aubrey.

The kicker later nailed a 51-yarder to extend the lead to 30-20 with under four minutes to play.

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 pass to Deebo Samuel, Johnson’s biggest play since 2018.

Dallas' Sustained Drives

On their next drive, 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.