Dak Prescott Guides Dallas Cowboys Past Reeling Washington Commanders to Kick Off Holiday Triple-Header.

Dak Prescott threw for 307 yards and two touchdowns, and the Dallas Cowboys squandered a large portion of an 18-point lead before edging the Washington Commanders 30-23 Thursday.

Dallas (7-8-1) found the end zone on their initial three drives to establish a 21-3 lead. Although the Commanders (4-12) narrowed the margin to a touchdown on three different occasions, they couldn’t complete the comeback and suffered their tenth defeat in 11 games.

Each squad were previously eliminated from postseason consideration, which severely lessened the stakes of this matchup 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 tries. His pair of touchdown throws gave him 30 for the season, matching Tony Romo’s record of four seasons with at least 30 touchdown passes.

Prescott shrugged off six sacks, including three coming from defensive tackle Jer’Zhan Newton.

Commanders' QB Situation

Playing without injured quarterbacks Jayden Daniels (elbow) and Marcus Mariota (quad, hand), Washington called upon 39-year-old journeyman Josh Johnson. Making his 10th career start and his first in over two years, Johnson was 15 for 23 for 198 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions.

Washington's Scoring Drives

Jacory Croskey-Merritt scored on runs of 10 and 72 yards for Washington. The 72-yard scamper 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.

The kicker later nailed a 51-yarder to make it 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 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 Drives

On their next drive, the Cowboys successfully executed 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 scoring pass to KaVontae Turpin.