Dak Prescott Leads Dallas Cowboys By Struggling Washington Commanders to Launch Holiday Tripleheader.
Dak Prescott accumulated 307 yards and two touchdowns, as Dallas blew most of an 18-point lead before edging the Washington Commanders 30-23 Thursday.
Dallas (7-8-1) scored touchdowns on their first three possessions to build a 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 10th loss in 11 games.
Both teams were previously eliminated from postseason consideration, which severely lessened the stakes of this matchup between historic NFC East rivals.
The Quarterback's Historic Outing
Prescott connected on 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, 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.
Commanders' Quarterback Dilemma
Forced to play minus injured quarterbacks Jayden Daniels (elbow) and Marcus Mariota (quad, hand), Washington called upon veteran Josh Johnson. In his 10th NFL start and his first in over two years, Johnson was 15 for 23 for 198 yards with zero touchdowns and zero picks.
The Commanders' Scoring Drives
Jacory Croskey-Merritt scored on 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.
The kicker later nailed a 51-yarder to extend the lead to 30-20 with 3:59 remaining.
Following a Prescott touchdown pass 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 pass to Deebo Samuel, Johnson’s biggest play since 2018.
Dallas' Methodical Possessions
On their next drive, the Cowboys successfully executed three fourth downs on a 17-play march 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.
