Prescott Leads Cowboys Past Reeling Washington Commanders to Launch Christmas Three-Game Slate.

The Cowboys' quarterback accumulated 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 on Thursday night.

Dallas (7-8-1) scored touchdowns on their initial three drives to build a 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 tenth defeat in 11 games.

Each squad were already out from playoff contention, which significantly reduced the importance of this matchup between historic NFC East rivals.

The Quarterback's Historic Performance

Prescott connected on 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, tying Tony Romo’s record of four seasons with at least 30 touchdown passes.

Prescott shrugged off six sacks, including three coming from Jer’Zhan Newton.

Commanders' 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 his first in over two years, Johnson was 15 for 23 for 198 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions.

Washington's Scoring Drives

Jacory Croskey-Merritt found paydirt with runs of 10 and 72 yards for Washington. The 72-yard scamper got the Commanders to 24-17 in the second half, but Dallas restored its double-digit lead with a 52-yard kick by 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 completed three passes for 68 yards to get Washington to 7-3. The key play was a 41-yard completion to Deebo Samuel, Johnson’s longest since 2018.

Cowboys' Methodical Drives

On their second possession, the Cowboys converted 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.