Prescott Guides Dallas Cowboys By Struggling Commanders to Launch Holiday Triple-Header.
The Cowboys' quarterback passed for 307 yards and a pair of scoring strikes, 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 initial three drives to establish a 21-3 lead. Washington, falling to 4-12, closed the deficit to a touchdown on three separate instances, they couldn’t complete the comeback and suffered their tenth defeat in 11 games.
Both teams were already out from playoff contention, which greatly diminished the importance 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 pair of touchdown throws gave him 30 for the season, equaling Tony Romo’s record of four seasons with at least 30 touchdown passes.
The signal-caller endured six sacks, including three credited to defensive tackle Jer’Zhan Newton.
Washington's Quarterback Situation
Forced to play minus their top QBs Jayden Daniels (elbow) and Marcus Mariota (quad, hand), Washington called upon 39-year-old journeyman Josh Johnson. In his 10th NFL start and first since 2021, Johnson was 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 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.
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 game’s opening drive, Johnson completed three passes for 68 yards to get Washington to 7-3. A crucial connection was a 41-yard completion to Deebo Samuel, Johnson’s longest since 2018.
Cowboys' Methodical Possessions
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 completed the hat-trick in three drives with an 86-yard scoring pass to KaVontae Turpin.
