Dak Prescott Guides Dallas Cowboys Beyond Reeling Washington Commanders to Kick Off Holiday Tripleheader.
The Cowboys' quarterback accumulated 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 on Thursday night.
The Cowboys, now 7-8-1, scored touchdowns on their initial three drives to go up 21-3 lead. Although the Commanders (4-12) closed the deficit 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 severely lessened the significance of this matchup between historic NFC East rivals.
The Quarterback's Historic Outing
Prescott completed 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 Tony Romo’s record of four seasons with 30 or more touchdown passes.
The signal-caller endured six sacks, including three coming from Jer’Zhan Newton.
Washington's Quarterback Situation
Forced to play minus their top QBs Jayden Daniels (elbow) and Marcus Mariota (quad, hand), Washington turned to 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 zero touchdowns and zero picks.
The Commanders' 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 reclaimed a 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 completion 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.
