Dak Prescott Leads Cowboys By Struggling Washington Commanders to Kick Off Holiday Three-Game Slate.

The Cowboys' quarterback accumulated 307 yards and a pair of scoring strikes, as Dallas squandered a large portion of an 18-point lead before narrowly defeating the Washington Commanders 30-23 on Thursday night.

The Cowboys, now 7-8-1, found the end zone on their first three possessions to build a 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 previously eliminated from postseason consideration, which greatly diminished the significance of this contest between historic NFC East rivals.

Prescott's Record-Tying Outing

Prescott completed 19 of 37 passes and helped Dallas convert all six of its fourth-down attempts. 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 Jer’Zhan Newton.

Commanders' Quarterback Dilemma

Playing without injured quarterbacks Jayden Daniels (elbow) and Marcus Mariota (quad, hand), Washington turned to 39-year-old journeyman 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 latter touchdown got the Commanders to 24-17 in the second half, but Dallas reclaimed a double-digit lead with a 52-yard field goal by Brandon Aubrey.

Aubrey added a 51-yarder to make it 30-20 with 3:59 remaining.

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. A crucial connection was a 41-yard pass to Deebo Samuel, Johnson’s biggest play since 2018.

Cowboys' Sustained Drives

On their second possession, the Cowboys converted three fourth downs on a lengthy, 17-play drive that ended with a touchdown run by Javonte Williams. Prescott then made it three TDs in three drives with an 86-yard touchdown strike to KaVontae Turpin.