Dak Prescott Leads Dallas Cowboys Past Skidding Washington Commanders to Launch Christmas Three-Game Slate.

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

Dallas (7-8-1) found the end zone on their first three possessions to build a 21-3 lead. Although the Commanders (4-12) closed the deficit to a touchdown on three different occasions, they were unable to finish the comeback and suffered their 10th loss in 11 games.

Both teams were previously eliminated from postseason consideration, which greatly diminished the stakes of this matchup between historic NFC East rivals.

The Quarterback's Historic Performance

Prescott completed 19 of 37 passes and helped Dallas convert all six of its fourth-down attempts. His two TD passes gave him 30 for the season, tying Tony Romo’s record of four seasons with 30 or more touchdown passes.

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

Washington's QB Dilemma

Forced to play minus 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 went 15 for 23 for 198 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions.

Washington's Offensive Highlights

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 reclaimed a 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 first possession, 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.

Cowboys' Methodical Possessions

On their next drive, the Cowboys converted three fourth downs on a lengthy, 17-play drive that ended with a touchdown run by Javonte Williams. Prescott then made it three TDs in three drives with an 86-yard touchdown strike to KaVontae Turpin.