Dak Prescott Guides Dallas Cowboys By Struggling Commanders to Launch Christmas Tripleheader.

Dak Prescott threw for 307 yards and two touchdowns, as Dallas blew most 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 build a 21-3 lead. Washington, falling to 4-12, closed the deficit to a touchdown on three different occasions, they couldn’t complete the comeback and suffered their 10th loss in 11 games.

Both teams were already out from playoff contention, which greatly diminished the importance of this matchup between longtime NFC East rivals.

Prescott's Record-Tying Performance

Prescott connected on 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 the franchise record of four seasons with 30 or more touchdown passes.

Prescott shrugged off six sacks, with three coming from Jer’Zhan Newton.

Commanders' Quarterback Dilemma

Forced to play minus their top QBs Jayden Daniels (elbow) and Marcus Mariota (quad, hand), Washington called upon 39-year-old journeyman Josh Johnson. In his 10th NFL start and first since 2021, Johnson was 15 for 23 for 198 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions.

The Commanders' Offensive Highlights

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 field goal by kicker 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 longest since 2018.

Dallas' Methodical Drives

On their next drive, the Cowboys converted three fourth downs on a lengthy, 17-play drive that culminated in a touchdown run by Javonte Williams. Prescott then completed the hat-trick in three drives with an 86-yard touchdown strike to KaVontae Turpin.