Dak Prescott Guides Dallas Cowboys Past Skidding Washington Commanders to Begin Holiday Three-Game Slate.

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

Dallas (7-8-1) found the end zone on their initial three drives to go up 21-3 lead. Washington, falling to 4-12, narrowed the margin to a touchdown on three separate instances, they couldn’t complete the comeback and absorbed their tenth defeat in 11 games.

Both teams were already out from postseason consideration, which severely lessened the importance of this matchup 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, equaling Tony Romo’s record of four seasons with at least 30 touchdown passes.

Prescott shrugged off six sacks, including three coming from Jer’Zhan Newton.

Commanders' QB Situation

Forced to play minus their top QBs Jayden Daniels (elbow) and Marcus Mariota (quad, hand), Washington called upon 39-year-old journeyman Josh Johnson. In his 10th NFL start and first since 2021, Johnson went 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 second half, 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.

Following a Prescott touchdown pass to tight end Jake Ferguson on the game’s opening drive, 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 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 made it three TDs in three drives with an 86-yard scoring pass to KaVontae Turpin.