Dak Prescott Leads Dallas Cowboys Beyond Skidding Commanders to Begin Christmas Three-Game Slate.

The Cowboys' quarterback threw for 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 Thursday.

Dallas (7-8-1) found the end zone on their first three possessions to go up 21-3 lead. Although the Commanders (4-12) cut the gap to a touchdown on three separate instances, they were unable to finish the comeback and suffered their 10th loss in 11 games.

Each squad were previously eliminated from postseason consideration, which severely lessened 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, tying the franchise record of four seasons with at least 30 touchdown passes.

Prescott shrugged off six sacks, with three credited to defensive tackle Jer’Zhan Newton.

Commanders' QB Situation

Playing without their top QBs Jayden Daniels (elbow) and Marcus Mariota (quad, hand), Washington called upon 39-year-old journeyman Josh Johnson. Making his 10th career start and first since 2021, Johnson went 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 latter touchdown got the Commanders to 24-17 in the third quarter, but Dallas restored its double-digit lead with a 52-yard field goal by Brandon Aubrey.

The kicker later nailed 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 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 biggest play since 2018.

Dallas' Methodical Drives

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.