Dak Prescott Guides Cowboys Past Struggling Commanders to Kick Off Holiday Tripleheader.

The Cowboys' quarterback threw for 307 yards and two touchdowns, as Dallas squandered a large portion of an 18-point lead before narrowly defeating the Washington Commanders 30-23 Thursday.

The Cowboys, now 7-8-1, scored touchdowns on their initial three drives to go up 21-3 lead. Washington, falling to 4-12, cut the gap to a touchdown on three different occasions, they were unable to finish the comeback and suffered their tenth defeat in 11 games.

Both teams were already out from playoff contention, which significantly reduced the stakes of this matchup between historic NFC East rivals.

The Quarterback's Record-Tying Performance

Prescott connected on 19 of 37 passes and was instrumental on all six of its fourth-down tries. His pair of touchdown throws 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 Jer’Zhan Newton.

Washington's QB Situation

Forced to play minus their top QBs Jayden Daniels (elbow) and Marcus Mariota (quad, hand), Washington called upon veteran Josh Johnson. Making his 10th career start and first since 2021, Johnson was 15 for 23 for 198 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions.

The Commanders' Offensive Highlights

Jacory Croskey-Merritt found paydirt with 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 kick by Brandon Aubrey.

Aubrey added 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 completed three passes for 68 yards to get Washington to 7-3. The key play was a 41-yard completion to Deebo Samuel, Johnson’s longest since 2018.

Dallas' Sustained Drives

On their next drive, the Cowboys successfully executed 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 touchdown strike to KaVontae Turpin.