Prescott leads Cowboys past skidding Commanders as Lions eliminated with loss | NFL

Dak Prescott threw for 307 yards and two touchdowns, and the Dallas Cowboys blew most of an 18-point lead before squeezing past the Washington Commanders 30-23 Thursday.

Dallas (7-8-1) scored touchdowns on their first three possessions to go up 21-3. Although the Commanders (4-12) cut the gap to a touchdown on three different occasions, they couldn’t complete the comeback and absorbed their 10th loss in 11 games.

Both teams were previously eliminated from playoff contention, which severely lessened the significance of this matchup between longtime NFC East rivals.

Prescott completed 19 of 37 passes and helped Dallas convert all six of its fourth-down tries. His two TD passes gave him 30, tying Tony Romo’s franchise record of four seasons with at least 30 touchdown throws.

Prescott shrugged off six sacks, including three by Jer’Zhan Newton.

Playing without injured quarterbacks Jayden Daniels (elbow) and Marcus Mariota (quad, hand), Washington turned to 39-year-old journeyman Josh Johnson. Making his 10th career start and first since 2021, Johnson went 15 for 23 for 198 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions.

Jacory Croskey-Merritt scored on runs of 10 and 72 yards for Washington. The latter touchdown got the Commanders to 24-17 in the third quarter, but Dallas restored its double-digit lead with a 52-yard field by Brandon Aubrey.

Aubrey added a 51-yarder to make it 30-20 with 3:59 remaining.

After Prescott threw a seven-yard 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 completion to Deebo Samuel, Johnson’s longest since 2018. Samuel finished by running into Donovan Wilson, knocking the safety’s helmet off.

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

Detroit Lions 10-23 Minnesota Vikings

The Detroit Lions have gifted the division rival Green Bay Packers a spot in the playoffs.

With six turnovers in a 23-10 loss to the Minnesota Vikings on Thursday, Detroit were eliminated from postseason contention – clinching at least a wild-card berth for Green Bay.

After taking the past two NFC North titles, reaching the conference championship game after the first one and posting a franchise-record 15 wins for the second one, the Lions (8-8) lost their third straight game in a sloppy performance unfit for the NFL’s Christmas Day showcase.

Jared Goff was charged with three lost fumbles, twice on errant snaps by backup center Kingsley Eguakun, and threw two interceptions after just six giveaways over the first 15 games this season. The Lions entered the week with only eight turnovers, the fewest in the league.