Dak Prescott Pilots Dallas Cowboys Beyond Reeling Washington Commanders to Begin Holiday Tripleheader.

The Cowboys' quarterback passed for 307 yards and a pair of scoring strikes, and the Dallas Cowboys blew most of an 18-point lead before edging the Washington Commanders 30-23 Thursday.

The Cowboys, now 7-8-1, scored touchdowns on their initial three drives to build a 21-3 lead. Although the Commanders (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.

Each squad were already out from postseason consideration, which severely lessened the significance of this contest between historic NFC East rivals.

The Quarterback's Record-Tying Outing

Prescott completed 19 of 37 passes and was instrumental on 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 at least 30 touchdown passes.

Prescott shrugged off six sacks, with three coming from 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 went 15 for 23 for 198 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions.

The Commanders' Scoring Drives

Jacory Croskey-Merritt scored on runs of 10 and 72 yards for Washington. The latter touchdown 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.

Aubrey added a 51-yarder to make it 30-20 with under four minutes to play.

Following a Prescott touchdown pass to tight end Jake Ferguson on the game’s opening drive, 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' Sustained Drives

On their second possession, the Cowboys successfully executed three fourth downs on a 17-play march 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.