Prescott Pilots Cowboys By Reeling Commanders to Begin Christmas Tripleheader.

Dak Prescott threw for 307 yards and a pair of scoring strikes, 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 first three possessions to establish a 21-3 lead. Washington, falling to 4-12, narrowed the margin to a touchdown on three different occasions, they couldn’t complete the comeback and absorbed their tenth defeat in 11 games.

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

The Quarterback's Record-Tying Outing

Prescott connected on 19 of 37 passes and was instrumental on all six of its fourth-down tries. His pair of touchdown throws gave him 30 for the season, equaling Tony Romo’s record of four seasons with 30 or more touchdown passes.

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

Commanders' QB Dilemma

Forced to play minus injured quarterbacks Jayden Daniels (elbow) and Marcus Mariota (quad, hand), Washington called upon veteran Josh Johnson. Making his 10th career start and first since 2021, Johnson went 15 for 23 for 198 yards with zero touchdowns and zero picks.

The Commanders' Offensive Highlights

Jacory Croskey-Merritt found paydirt with 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 kick by kicker Brandon Aubrey.

Aubrey added 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 longest since 2018.

Cowboys' Methodical Drives

On their next drive, the Cowboys successfully executed 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.