Prescott Leads Cowboys By Struggling Commanders to Launch Christmas Tripleheader.

The Cowboys' quarterback threw for 307 yards and two touchdowns, and the Dallas Cowboys blew most of an 18-point lead before edging the Washington Commanders 30-23 Thursday.

Dallas (7-8-1) found the end zone on their initial three drives to go up 21-3 lead. Although the Commanders (4-12) closed the deficit to a touchdown on three separate instances, they couldn’t complete the comeback and suffered their 10th loss in 11 games.

Both teams were already out from playoff contention, which significantly reduced the importance of this contest between historic NFC East rivals.

The Quarterback's Historic Performance

Prescott completed 19 of 37 passes and helped Dallas convert all six of its fourth-down attempts. His pair of touchdown throws gave him 30 for the season, equaling the franchise record of four seasons with at least 30 touchdown passes.

The signal-caller endured six sacks, with three credited to defensive tackle Jer’Zhan Newton.

Commanders' 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 first since 2021, Johnson was 15 for 23 for 198 yards with zero touchdowns and zero picks.

Washington's 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.

The kicker later nailed a 51-yarder to extend the lead to 30-20 with 3:59 remaining.

Following a Prescott touchdown pass to tight end Jake Ferguson on the game’s opening drive, Johnson went 3 for 3 for 68 yards to get Washington to 7-3. The key play was a 41-yard pass to Deebo Samuel, Johnson’s biggest play since 2018.

Dallas' 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.