Prescott Pilots Dallas Cowboys Past Reeling Commanders to Kick Off Christmas Triple-Header.

Dak Prescott accumulated 307 yards and two touchdowns, as Dallas blew most of an 18-point lead before narrowly defeating the Washington Commanders 30-23 on Thursday night.

The Cowboys, now 7-8-1, found the end zone on their initial three drives to go up 21-3 lead. Washington, falling to 4-12, narrowed the margin 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 already out from playoff contention, which severely lessened the stakes of this contest between longtime NFC East rivals.

The Quarterback's Historic Performance

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 at least 30 touchdown passes.

Prescott shrugged off six sacks, including three coming from defensive tackle Jer’Zhan Newton.

Commanders' Quarterback Dilemma

Playing without injured quarterbacks Jayden Daniels (elbow) and Marcus Mariota (quad, hand), Washington turned to veteran Josh Johnson. In his 10th NFL start and his first in over two years, 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 second half, but Dallas restored its double-digit lead with a 52-yard field goal by Brandon Aubrey.

Aubrey added a 51-yarder to make it 30-20 with 3:59 remaining.

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. A crucial connection was a 41-yard pass to Deebo Samuel, Johnson’s biggest play since 2018.

Cowboys' Methodical 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.