Dak Prescott Pilots Cowboys Beyond Skidding Commanders to Begin Christmas Triple-Header.

Dak Prescott passed for 307 yards and two touchdowns, and the Dallas Cowboys squandered a large portion of an 18-point lead before squeezing past the Washington Commanders 30-23 Thursday.

The Cowboys, now 7-8-1, scored touchdowns on their initial three drives to establish a 21-3 lead. Washington, falling to 4-12, closed the deficit to a touchdown on three different occasions, they couldn’t complete the comeback and absorbed their 10th loss in 11 games.

Both teams were already out from playoff contention, which severely lessened the stakes of this contest between historic NFC East rivals.

Prescott's Historic Performance

Prescott completed 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, matching the franchise record of four seasons with 30 or more touchdown passes.

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

Commanders' Quarterback Situation

Playing without their top QBs Jayden Daniels (elbow) and Marcus Mariota (quad, hand), Washington turned to 39-year-old journeyman Josh Johnson. In his 10th NFL start and his first in over two years, Johnson was 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 kicker Brandon Aubrey.

The kicker later nailed a 51-yarder to make it 30-20 with 3:59 remaining.

Following a Prescott touchdown pass to tight end Jake Ferguson on the first possession, Johnson went 3 for 3 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' Methodical Drives

On their next drive, the Cowboys successfully executed 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 scoring pass to KaVontae Turpin.