Dak Prescott Guides Cowboys By Reeling Commanders to Kick Off Christmas Tripleheader.

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 Thursday.

The Cowboys, now 7-8-1, found the end zone on their first three possessions to go up 21-3 lead. Although the Commanders (4-12) cut the gap to a touchdown on three separate instances, they couldn’t complete the comeback and absorbed their tenth defeat in 11 games.

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

The Quarterback's Historic Performance

Prescott connected on 19 of 37 passes and was instrumental on all six of its fourth-down tries. His two TD passes gave him 30 for the season, equaling the franchise record of four seasons with 30 or more touchdown passes.

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

Washington's Quarterback Dilemma

Forced to play minus their top QBs Jayden Daniels (elbow) and Marcus Mariota (quad, hand), Washington called upon veteran Josh Johnson. Making his 10th career start and his first in over two years, Johnson was 15 for 23 for 198 yards with zero touchdowns and zero picks.

The Commanders' Offensive Highlights

Jacory Croskey-Merritt scored on 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 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. The key play was a 41-yard pass to Deebo Samuel, Johnson’s longest since 2018.

Dallas' Sustained Possessions

On their second possession, the Cowboys converted three fourth downs on a lengthy, 17-play drive 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.