Prescott Pilots Cowboys Beyond Reeling Commanders to Begin Christmas Tripleheader.

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

The Cowboys, now 7-8-1, found the end zone on their first three possessions 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 absorbed their 10th loss in 11 games.

Each squad were previously eliminated from postseason consideration, which significantly reduced the stakes of this matchup between longtime NFC East rivals.

The Quarterback's Historic Outing

Prescott completed 19 of 37 passes and was instrumental on all six of its fourth-down tries. His pair of touchdown throws gave him 30 for the season, matching Tony Romo’s record of four seasons with 30 or more touchdown passes.

Prescott shrugged off six sacks, including three credited to Jer’Zhan Newton.

Commanders' QB Dilemma

Playing without their top QBs Jayden Daniels (elbow) and Marcus Mariota (quad, hand), Washington turned to veteran Josh Johnson. Making his 10th career start and first since 2021, Johnson was 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 third quarter, 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 under four minutes to play.

Following a Prescott touchdown pass 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. The key play 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 made it three TDs in three drives with an 86-yard touchdown strike to KaVontae Turpin.