Dak Prescott Pilots Dallas Cowboys Past Reeling Commanders to Begin Holiday Three-Game Slate.
Dak Prescott accumulated 307 yards and a pair of scoring strikes, and the Dallas Cowboys squandered a large portion of an 18-point lead before narrowly defeating the Washington Commanders 30-23 Thursday.
The Cowboys, now 7-8-1, scored touchdowns on their first three possessions to establish a 21-3 lead. Although the Commanders (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 previously eliminated from playoff contention, which severely lessened the stakes of this matchup between longtime NFC East rivals.
The Quarterback's Historic Performance
Prescott completed 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, tying the franchise record of four seasons with 30 or more touchdown passes.
The signal-caller endured six sacks, including three credited to Jer’Zhan Newton.
Washington's Quarterback Situation
Playing without injured quarterbacks 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 went 15 for 23 for 198 yards with zero touchdowns and zero picks.
The Commanders' Offensive Highlights
Jacory Croskey-Merritt scored on runs of 10 and 72 yards for Washington. The 72-yard scamper got the Commanders to 24-17 in the third quarter, but Dallas reclaimed a 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 under four minutes to play.
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. The key play was a 41-yard completion to Deebo Samuel, Johnson’s biggest play since 2018.
Dallas' Methodical Drives
On their next drive, the Cowboys successfully executed three fourth downs on a 17-play march that ended with a touchdown run by Javonte Williams. Prescott then made it three TDs in three drives with an 86-yard touchdown strike to KaVontae Turpin.
