Prescott Pilots Cowboys By Skidding Commanders to Begin Christmas Tripleheader.

Dak Prescott passed for 307 yards and a pair of scoring strikes, and the Dallas Cowboys squandered a large portion of an 18-point lead before squeezing past the Washington Commanders 30-23 on Thursday night.

The Cowboys, now 7-8-1, scored touchdowns on their initial three drives to go up 21-3 lead. Although the Commanders (4-12) narrowed the margin to a touchdown on three different occasions, they were unable to finish the comeback and absorbed their 10th loss in 11 games.

Both teams were previously eliminated from playoff contention, which severely lessened the significance of this contest 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, matching Tony Romo’s record of four seasons with 30 or more touchdown passes.

The signal-caller endured six sacks, including three coming from Jer’Zhan Newton.

Washington's QB Dilemma

Forced to play minus injured quarterbacks 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.

The Commanders' 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 kicker Brandon Aubrey.

Aubrey added a 51-yarder to extend the lead to 30-20 with under four minutes to play.

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 completion to Deebo Samuel, Johnson’s biggest play since 2018.

Dallas' Sustained Drives

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 scoring pass to KaVontae Turpin.