Prescott Pilots Cowboys Past Struggling Commanders to Launch Christmas Three-Game Slate.

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

The Cowboys, now 7-8-1, scored touchdowns on their initial three drives to go up 21-3 lead. Although the Commanders (4-12) narrowed the margin to a touchdown on three separate instances, they couldn’t complete the comeback and suffered their 10th loss in 11 games.

Each squad were previously eliminated from playoff contention, which greatly diminished the stakes of this matchup between longtime NFC East rivals.

The Quarterback's Historic Outing

Prescott completed 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, equaling the franchise record of four seasons with 30 or more touchdown passes.

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

Washington's Quarterback Dilemma

Forced to play minus injured quarterbacks Jayden Daniels (elbow) and Marcus Mariota (quad, hand), Washington turned to veteran 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 72-yard scamper got the Commanders to 24-17 in the third quarter, but Dallas restored its double-digit lead with a 52-yard field goal by Brandon Aubrey.

The kicker later nailed 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 went 3 for 3 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 successfully executed 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.