Dak Prescott Pilots Cowboys Beyond Struggling Washington Commanders to Begin Holiday Three-Game Slate.

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

Dallas (7-8-1) found the end zone on their first three possessions to build a 21-3 lead. Although the Commanders (4-12) cut the gap to a touchdown on three separate instances, they couldn’t complete the comeback and absorbed their 10th loss in 11 games.

Both teams were already out from playoff contention, which severely lessened the importance of this matchup between longtime NFC East rivals.

Prescott'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 credited to Jer’Zhan Newton.

Washington's QB Situation

Forced to play minus injured quarterbacks 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 went 15 for 23 for 198 yards with zero touchdowns and zero picks.

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 reclaimed a 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.

After Prescott threw to tight end Jake Ferguson on the first possession, Johnson completed three passes for 68 yards to get Washington to 7-3. A crucial connection was a 41-yard pass to Deebo Samuel, Johnson’s longest since 2018.

Cowboys' Sustained Drives

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.