Prescott Leads Dallas Cowboys Past Reeling Commanders to Begin Holiday Tripleheader.

Dak Prescott threw for 307 yards and two touchdowns, as Dallas 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 first three possessions to establish a 21-3 lead. Although the Commanders (4-12) closed the deficit to a touchdown on three different occasions, they couldn’t complete the comeback and suffered their tenth defeat in 11 games.

Each squad were previously eliminated from playoff contention, which significantly reduced the importance of this contest between longtime NFC East rivals.

Prescott's Record-Tying Outing

Prescott connected on 19 of 37 passes and helped Dallas convert all six of its fourth-down attempts. His pair of touchdown throws gave him 30 for the season, matching the franchise record of four seasons with 30 or more touchdown passes.

Prescott shrugged off six sacks, including three credited to defensive tackle Jer’Zhan Newton.

Commanders' QB Situation

Forced to play minus their top QBs Jayden Daniels (elbow) and Marcus Mariota (quad, hand), Washington turned to 39-year-old journeyman Josh Johnson. In his 10th NFL start and first since 2021, Johnson went 15 for 23 for 198 yards with zero touchdowns and zero picks.

Washington's Scoring Drives

Jacory Croskey-Merritt found paydirt with 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 kick by 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. The key play was a 41-yard pass to Deebo Samuel, Johnson’s biggest play since 2018.

Dallas' Methodical Possessions

On their second possession, the Cowboys converted 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.