Prescott Pilots Cowboys Past Skidding Washington Commanders to Begin Christmas Tripleheader.
The Cowboys' quarterback threw for 307 yards and a pair of scoring strikes, and the Dallas Cowboys squandered a large portion of an 18-point lead before narrowly defeating the Washington Commanders 30-23 Thursday.
Dallas (7-8-1) found the end zone on their first three possessions to build a 21-3 lead. Washington, falling to 4-12, narrowed the margin to a touchdown on three separate instances, they couldn’t complete the comeback and absorbed their tenth defeat in 11 games.
Each squad were previously eliminated from playoff contention, which severely lessened the significance of this contest 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, with three credited to Jer’Zhan Newton.
Commanders' QB Dilemma
Playing without their top QBs Jayden Daniels (elbow) and Marcus Mariota (quad, hand), Washington turned to veteran Josh Johnson. In his 10th NFL start and first since 2021, Johnson was 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 72-yard scamper got the Commanders to 24-17 in the second half, but Dallas restored its double-digit lead with a 52-yard kick by 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. A crucial connection was a 41-yard completion to Deebo Samuel, Johnson’s biggest play since 2018.
Dallas' Sustained Possessions
On their second possession, the Cowboys converted three fourth downs on a 17-play march 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.