Dak Prescott Leads Cowboys By Struggling Washington Commanders to Kick Off Holiday Triple-Header.

The Cowboys' quarterback accumulated 307 yards and a pair of scoring strikes, and the Dallas Cowboys blew most of an 18-point lead before squeezing past the Washington Commanders 30-23 on Thursday night.

Dallas (7-8-1) scored touchdowns on their initial three drives to build 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 suffered their 10th loss in 11 games.

Both teams were already out from playoff contention, which significantly reduced the significance of this contest between longtime NFC East rivals.

The Quarterback's Historic Performance

Prescott completed 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, matching Tony Romo’s record of four seasons with at least 30 touchdown passes.

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

Commanders' QB Situation

Playing without injured quarterbacks Jayden Daniels (elbow) and Marcus Mariota (quad, hand), Washington called upon 39-year-old journeyman Josh Johnson. Making his 10th career start and first since 2021, Johnson went 15 for 23 for 198 yards with zero touchdowns and zero picks.

The Commanders' Scoring Drives

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 second half, 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 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 completed three passes 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 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.