Dak Prescott Leads Cowboys Beyond 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 narrowly defeating the Washington Commanders 30-23 Thursday.

Dallas (7-8-1) scored touchdowns on their initial three drives to build a 21-3 lead. Washington, falling to 4-12, closed the deficit to a touchdown on three different occasions, they were unable to finish the comeback and absorbed their tenth defeat in 11 games.

Each squad were already out from playoff contention, which greatly diminished the significance of this matchup between historic NFC East rivals.

The Quarterback's Record-Tying Outing

Prescott completed 19 of 37 passes and was instrumental on all six of its fourth-down tries. His two TD passes gave him 30 for the season, matching the franchise record of four seasons with at least 30 touchdown passes.

The signal-caller endured six sacks, including three credited to defensive tackle Jer’Zhan Newton.

Commanders' Quarterback Dilemma

Playing without 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 zero touchdowns and zero picks.

Washington's Offensive Highlights

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 third quarter, but Dallas reclaimed a double-digit lead with a 52-yard field goal by Brandon Aubrey.

The kicker later nailed a 51-yarder to make it 30-20 with under four minutes to play.

After Prescott threw to tight end Jake Ferguson on the game’s opening drive, 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 longest since 2018.

Cowboys' Methodical Drives

On their second possession, the Cowboys converted three fourth downs on a 17-play march that ended with a touchdown run by Javonte Williams. Prescott then completed the hat-trick in three drives with an 86-yard scoring pass to KaVontae Turpin.