Prescott Guides Cowboys By Struggling Commanders to Launch Holiday Triple-Header.
The Cowboys' quarterback threw for 307 yards and a pair of scoring strikes, as Dallas blew most of an 18-point lead before edging the Washington Commanders 30-23 Thursday.
The Cowboys, now 7-8-1, found the end zone on their initial three drives to go up 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.
Both teams were already out from postseason consideration, which severely lessened the significance 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 attempts. His pair of touchdown throws gave him 30 for the season, tying 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 Quarterback Situation
Playing without 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 was 15 for 23 for 198 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions.
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 third quarter, but Dallas restored its double-digit lead with a 52-yard kick by kicker Brandon Aubrey.
The kicker later nailed a 51-yarder to make it 30-20 with under four minutes to play.
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 completion to Deebo Samuel, Johnson’s longest since 2018.
Dallas' Sustained Possessions
On their second possession, the Cowboys successfully executed 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 touchdown strike to KaVontae Turpin.
