Prescott Guides Dallas Cowboys By Skidding Washington Commanders to Begin Christmas Triple-Header.
The Cowboys' quarterback passed for 307 yards and two touchdowns, as Dallas squandered a large portion of an 18-point lead before narrowly defeating the Washington Commanders 30-23 on Thursday night.
The Cowboys, now 7-8-1, scored touchdowns on their initial three drives to establish a 21-3 lead. Washington, falling to 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 already out from postseason consideration, which significantly reduced the stakes of this matchup between longtime NFC East rivals.
Prescott's Record-Tying Performance
Prescott completed 19 of 37 passes and helped Dallas convert all six of its fourth-down tries. His two TD passes gave him 30 for the season, tying Tony Romo’s record of four seasons with 30 or more touchdown passes.
Prescott shrugged off six sacks, including three coming from Jer’Zhan Newton.
Commanders' Quarterback Dilemma
Playing without 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 went 15 for 23 for 198 yards with zero touchdowns and zero picks.
Washington's 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 reclaimed a double-digit lead with a 52-yard kick 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. The key play 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 completed the hat-trick in three drives with an 86-yard touchdown strike to KaVontae Turpin.
