Prescott Leads Dallas Cowboys Beyond Reeling Washington Commanders to Launch Holiday Three-Game Slate.
The Cowboys' quarterback threw for 307 yards and two touchdowns, as Dallas squandered a large portion of an 18-point lead before squeezing past the Washington Commanders 30-23 Thursday.
Dallas (7-8-1) found the end zone on their first three possessions to build a 21-3 lead. Washington, falling to 4-12, narrowed the margin to a touchdown on three separate instances, they were unable to finish the comeback and suffered their 10th loss in 11 games.
Both teams were previously eliminated from postseason consideration, which greatly diminished the stakes of this contest between historic NFC East rivals.
Prescott's Historic Outing
Prescott connected on 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 Jer’Zhan Newton.
Washington's QB Dilemma
Playing without their top QBs Jayden Daniels (elbow) and Marcus Mariota (quad, hand), Washington turned to veteran Josh Johnson. Making his 10th career start and his first in over two years, Johnson was 15 for 23 for 198 yards with zero touchdowns and zero picks.
Washington's Scoring Drives
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 third quarter, but Dallas restored its double-digit lead with a 52-yard kick by kicker Brandon Aubrey.
Aubrey added a 51-yarder to extend the lead to 30-20 with 3:59 remaining.
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 biggest play since 2018.
Dallas' Methodical Possessions
On their next drive, the Cowboys converted three fourth downs on a 17-play march that culminated in a touchdown run by Javonte Williams. Prescott then made it three TDs in three drives with an 86-yard touchdown strike to KaVontae Turpin.