Dak Prescott Leads Cowboys Beyond Reeling Washington Commanders to Kick Off Holiday Tripleheader.

Dak Prescott accumulated 307 yards and a pair of scoring strikes, as Dallas squandered a large portion of an 18-point lead before edging the Washington Commanders 30-23 on Thursday night.

The Cowboys, now 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 separate instances, they were unable to finish the comeback and suffered their tenth defeat in 11 games.

Each squad were previously eliminated from postseason consideration, which greatly diminished the significance of this matchup between longtime NFC East rivals.

Prescott's Record-Tying Performance

Prescott completed 19 of 37 passes and helped Dallas convert all six of its fourth-down tries. His pair of touchdown throws 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 coming from Jer’Zhan Newton.

Commanders' Quarterback Dilemma

Playing without injured quarterbacks Jayden Daniels (elbow) and Marcus Mariota (quad, hand), Washington called upon veteran Josh Johnson. Making his 10th career start and his first in over two years, Johnson went 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 field goal by 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.

Cowboys' Sustained Possessions

On their second possession, the Cowboys successfully executed three fourth downs on a 17-play march 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.