Dak Prescott Guides Cowboys Past Struggling Washington Commanders to Kick Off Christmas Three-Game Slate.

The Cowboys' quarterback threw for 307 yards and two touchdowns, and the Dallas Cowboys blew most of an 18-point lead before edging the Washington Commanders 30-23 on Thursday night.

The Cowboys, now 7-8-1, found the end zone on their initial three drives to go up 21-3 lead. Washington, falling to 4-12, closed the deficit to a touchdown on three separate instances, they were unable to finish the comeback and suffered their tenth defeat in 11 games.

Both teams were already out from postseason consideration, which greatly diminished the stakes of this contest between historic NFC East rivals.

Prescott's Historic Performance

Prescott connected on 19 of 37 passes and helped Dallas convert all six of its fourth-down tries. His two TD passes gave him 30 for the season, equaling the franchise record of four seasons with at least 30 touchdown passes.

Prescott shrugged off six sacks, including three credited to Jer’Zhan Newton.

Commanders' Quarterback Situation

Playing without injured quarterbacks Jayden Daniels (elbow) and Marcus Mariota (quad, hand), Washington called upon 39-year-old journeyman Josh Johnson. In his 10th NFL start and his first in over two years, Johnson went 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 latter touchdown got the Commanders to 24-17 in the third quarter, but Dallas restored its double-digit lead with a 52-yard kick by Brandon Aubrey.

The kicker later nailed a 51-yarder to extend the lead to 30-20 with under four minutes to play.

After Prescott threw to tight end Jake Ferguson on the first possession, 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 longest since 2018.

Cowboys' Methodical Drives

On their next drive, 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.