Prescott Guides Cowboys Beyond Skidding Washington Commanders to Begin Holiday Triple-Header.

The Cowboys' quarterback threw for 307 yards and two touchdowns, as Dallas squandered a large portion of an 18-point lead before edging the Washington Commanders 30-23 on Thursday night.

Dallas (7-8-1) found the end zone on their initial three drives to build a 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 tenth defeat in 11 games.

Each squad were already out from postseason consideration, which significantly reduced the stakes of this matchup between historic NFC East rivals.

The Quarterback's Record-Tying Performance

Prescott connected on 19 of 37 passes and was instrumental on all six of its fourth-down attempts. His pair of touchdown throws gave him 30 for the season, tying Tony Romo’s record of four seasons with 30 or more touchdown passes.

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

Washington's QB Dilemma

Forced to play minus their top QBs Jayden Daniels (elbow) and Marcus Mariota (quad, hand), Washington called upon 39-year-old journeyman Josh Johnson. Making his 10th career start and his first in over two years, Johnson was 15 for 23 for 198 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions.

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 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.

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. The key play was a 41-yard completion to Deebo Samuel, Johnson’s longest since 2018.

Dallas' Sustained Drives

On their second possession, the Cowboys converted three fourth downs on a lengthy, 17-play drive that culminated in a touchdown run by Javonte Williams. Prescott then completed the hat-trick in three drives with an 86-yard scoring pass to KaVontae Turpin.