Dak Prescott Pilots Dallas Cowboys Past Struggling Commanders to Launch Holiday Three-Game Slate.
Dak Prescott threw for 307 yards and two touchdowns, 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 go up 21-3 lead. Washington, falling to 4-12, narrowed the margin to a touchdown on three different occasions, they couldn’t complete the comeback and suffered their 10th loss in 11 games.
Both teams were previously eliminated from postseason consideration, which greatly diminished the significance of this matchup between longtime NFC East rivals.
The Quarterback's Record-Tying Performance
Prescott completed 19 of 37 passes and helped Dallas convert all six of its fourth-down attempts. His two TD passes gave him 30 for the season, tying Tony Romo’s record of four seasons with at least 30 touchdown passes.
The signal-caller endured six sacks, including three coming from defensive tackle Jer’Zhan Newton.
Washington's QB Situation
Forced to play minus their top QBs Jayden Daniels (elbow) and Marcus Mariota (quad, hand), Washington turned to veteran Josh Johnson. In his 10th NFL start and his first in over two years, Johnson went 15 for 23 for 198 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions.
Washington's 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 reclaimed a double-digit lead with a 52-yard field goal by kicker Brandon Aubrey.
Aubrey added a 51-yarder to extend the lead to 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 longest since 2018.
Cowboys' Methodical Possessions
On their next drive, the Cowboys successfully executed three fourth downs on a 17-play march that culminated in a touchdown run by Javonte Williams. Prescott then completed the hat-trick in three drives with an 86-yard touchdown strike to KaVontae Turpin.
