Prescott Guides Dallas Cowboys By Reeling Commanders to Kick Off Holiday Triple-Header.
Dak Prescott accumulated 307 yards and two touchdowns, and the Dallas Cowboys blew most of an 18-point lead before squeezing past the Washington Commanders 30-23 Thursday.
The Cowboys, now 7-8-1, scored touchdowns on their first three possessions to build a 21-3 lead. Although the Commanders (4-12) narrowed the margin to a touchdown on three separate instances, they couldn’t complete the comeback and suffered their 10th loss in 11 games.
Each squad were already out from postseason consideration, which greatly diminished the stakes of this contest between historic NFC East rivals.
The Quarterback's Historic Outing
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, equaling the franchise record of four seasons with 30 or more touchdown passes.
Prescott shrugged off six sacks, including three credited to Jer’Zhan Newton.
Commanders' QB Situation
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 his first in over two years, Johnson went 15 for 23 for 198 yards with zero touchdowns and zero picks.
Washington's 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 restored its 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 3:59 remaining.
Following a Prescott touchdown pass 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.
Cowboys' Methodical Possessions
On their second possession, the Cowboys successfully executed three fourth downs on a 17-play march 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.
