The Dallas Cowboys overcame a sluggish second half to complete a season sweep of the Washington Commanders in a 30-23 Christmas Day victory that also snapped their three-game losing streak.
The Cowboys came out of the gate fast, scoring touchdowns on each of their first three drives: a six-yard touchdown pass to tight end Jake Ferguson, a four-yard touchdown run by running back Javonte Williams and an 86-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver KaVontae Turpin. Turpin's catch-and-run score is now the longest play from scrimmage on Christmas all-time. However, Dallas went cold in the second half, failing to find the end zone and just getting points off of Brandon Aubrey made field goals from 52 and 51 yards out. Dallas' inability to protect quarterback Dak Prescott kept this game close: Washington sacked Prescott six times, the most in a game for Washington's defense this season and the most allowed by Dallas' offense this season.
Aggressive play-calling from head coach Brian Schottenheimer helped get the Dallas over the finish line with the Cowboys going for it and converting all six of their fourth down attempts into first downs. That's the most fourth down conversions in a game since at least 1991, per CBS Sports Research. Prescott finished the afternoon with 307 yards passing and two touchdowns while completing 19 of his 37 throws. Ball control was critical for the Cowboys with them holding on to the ball for 38:44 while the Commanders had the ball for just 21:16.
| Cowboys ball control in Week 17 vs. Commanders | DAL | WAS |
|---|---|---|
Plays | 87 | 41 |
Yards | 480 | 328 |
Time of possession | 38:44 | 21:16 |
Running back Jacory Coskey-Merritt was the bright spot for Washington's offense, racking up 105 yards and two touchdowns on 11 carries for 9.5 yards per carry. Seventy-two of those came on a breakaway touchdown sprint on an inside right run to the right early in the third quarter to make the score 24-17. Croskey-Merritt also broke a couple tackles to break free from the Cowboys' defense to glide into the end zone for a 10-yard rushing touchdown that made the score 21-10 with 4:35 left in the half. Third string quarterback Josh Johnson, who started in place of the injured Jayden Daniels and Marcus Mariota, threw for 115 yards while completing 7 of his 10 passes. Wide receiver Deebo Samuel is the Commanders' entire offense early, leading Washington in both receiving yards (68 yards on two catches) and rushing yards (25 yards on two carries). The Commanders had more offensive play (18) than the Cowboys had first downs (17) in the opening half.
The Commanders are now 4-12, which is the second-most losses for a team that was in a conference championship game the year prior. The Cowboys are now 7-8-1.
Croskey-Merritt took an inside handoff to the right, and he turned on the jets, sprinting away for a 72-yard touchdown. Washington is now down just one touchdown, 24-17, with 9:34 left in the third quarter.
Two Dallas defensive penalties, a horse collar tackle infraction and a pass interference flag, helped Washington get down to the red zone. Croskey-Merritt broke a couple tackles to break free from the Cowboys' defense to glide into the end zone for a 10-yard rushing touchdown. Washington trails Dallas 21-10 with 4:35 left in the half.
Prescott lofted a seam ball deep down the middle on third-and-11 for wide receiver/return man KaVontae Turpin, and the All-Pro returner left the Washington defense in the dust for an 86-yard touchdown. Three drives for three touchdowns for the Cowboys. They lead 21-3 with seven minutes left in the first half.
Dallas takes over up 14-3 from their own two with 9:09 left in the first half.
Dallas capitalized on the unnecessary roughness penalty wide receiver George Pickens drew in the end zone to setup a four-yard rushing touchdown for running back Javonte Williams up the middle. Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer continues to call the game aggressively as Dallas is four for four on fourth down. They lead 14-3 with 12:06 left in the half.
After the Cowboys didn't register a single sack against Justin Herbert last week, Dallas edge rusher Jadeveon Clowney got home with a clutch sack of Commanders quarterback Josh Johnson on third goal. That forced Washington into a 29-yard field goal. Dallas leads 7-3 with 4:44 left in the first quarter after each team's opening drive.
Prescott floated the football over Commanders defensive back Quan Martin to where only tight end Jake Ferguson could make a play on the football. 7-0 Cowboys with 9:42 left in the first quarter.
Dak Prescott and Dallas' offense will start the day with the football.
McLaurin has just 429 yards receiving in eight games played for Washington in 2025 after producing five consecutive seasons with at least 1,000 yards receiving from 2020-2024. That was the longest streak in team history. McLaurin didn't play in the Week 7 matchup against Dallas, and his three receiving touchdowns this year are a career low. However, all three of those touchdowns in 2025 have come over the last five games. A year ago in 2024, McLaurin caught 13 touchdowns, the most in a season in team history.
Commanders No. 3 quarterback Josh Johnson came off the bench after Marcus Mariota (right hand/quad) went down because of injury against the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 16, and he looked like a 39-year-old, third-string passer, throwing for 43 yards and an interception on 5 of 9 passing. He'll be the fourth-oldest quarterback to start a game this season behind Philip Rivers (44), Aaron Rodgers (42) and Joe Flacco (40) with Mariota not practicing on either Monday or Tuesday this week. No one has been on an active roster for as many teams as Johnson, 13, in the 21st century.
Dallas owner and general manager Jerry Jones took accountability for the Cowboys' 30-year Super Bowl drought after the team's Week 16 defeat against the Chargers on Sunday. A year like 2025 has everyone from top to bottom in Dallas looking in the mirror.
"I'll admit that the Cowboys management has played a big role (in the 30-year Super Bowl drought)," Jones said postgame. "But seriously, I'm very disappointed that the way we're structured, and my role, puts us here tonight. I'm tremendously disappointed."
The 2025 season marks just the third of Prescott's 10-year career in which he will have played at least 12 games and missed the playoffs, along with 2017 and 2019. He'll be 33 years old at the start of the 2026 season, and he knows he's on the back nine of his NFL career. That's why Prescott plans to seek more input with Jones and the Cowboys' front office when it comes to communicating exactly what he feels the team needs to thrive going forward.
New Cowboys wide receiver George Pickens broke out in his first year in Dallas at age 24, playing like a top-five player at his position while catching passes from Prescott. The Dallas duo has connected for 13 plays of 25 or more yards this season, tied for the third most in the NFL, and now they'll head to the Pro Bowl together.
"Super explosive," Pickens said of the connection he built in Year 1 with Prescott. "I feel like that's one of the biggest things when you look back on the year, even though it's not over. Just look at the explosive plays that me, him, CeeDee [Lamb], Flo [Ryan Flournoy], everybody produced on offense. Javonte [Williams], too."
| George Pickens | NFL rank | |
|---|---|---|
Catches | 88 | 8th |
Receiving Yards | 1,342 | 3rd |
Receiving TD | 9 | 7th |
Receiving First Downs | 69 | 3rd |
Catches of 25 yards or more | 13 | T-3rd |
Williams is one of just three Cowboys players to go for over 1,000 yards rushing and at least 10 rushing touchdowns in their first season with Dallas. He joined Tony Dorsett (1977) and Ezekiel Elliott (2016) in that exclusive club.
"You don't always want to just follow money and things like that," Williams said. "You want to go somewhere where you can succeed and be a part of something that's special. I feel like it's very special here."
| Javonte Williams | NFL rank | |
|---|---|---|
Carries | 239 | 7th |
Rush yards | 1,147 | 6th |
Rush TD | 10 | T-7th |
Rush first downs | 63 | T-4th |
Dak Prescott is third in the NFL in passing touchdowns (28) and second in the league in passing yards (4,175) while leading the NFL's No. 5 scoring offense (28.3 points per game). That's bad news for a Washington Commanders defense that is allowing 26.9 points per game this season, the sixth-most in the entire league. Prescott went up against Commanders head coach and defensive play caller Dan Quinn's defense every day in practice for three years when the latter was the Cowboys' defensive coordinator from 2021 to 2023. That provides the freshly minted, four-time Pro Bowl quarterback plenty of intel to carve up the Commanders defense once again in 2025.
In Dallas' 44-22 Week 7 win over Washington, Prescott threw for 264 yards and three touchdowns while completing 70% of his passes, 21 of 30. Among active players, only Aaron Rodgers (seven four-touchdown pass games vs. the Chicago Bears and six four-touchdown pass games vs. the Minnesota Vikings) has more four-touchdown pass games against a single opponent than Prescott's four such games against Washington.
| Dak Prescott career vs. Washington | Stats |
|---|---|
W-L | 12-2 |
Comp Pct | 67% |
Pass YPG | 243.5 |
TD-INT | 30-5 |
Passer Rating | 108.2 |
The Cowboys defense is allowing 30.3 points per game this season in the first year of Matt Eberflus as the team's defensive coordinator. That figure stands as the second-most in the NFL this season and the second-most in team history. Only the 1960 Cowboys, the franchise's inaugural team, was worse, allowing 30.8 points per game. Dallas' 2025 squad is also looking to avoid joining the 2016 New Orleans Saints, who went 7-9 and missed the playoffs, as the only teams in the last 40 seasons to lead the NFL in passing offense (274.3 passing yards per game) but rank dead last in pass defense (257.8 passing yards per game allowed).
LB DeMarvion Overshown (concussion), WR Ryan Flournoy (knee) and CB Caelen Carson (hamstring) are inactive. DT Quinnen Williams returns from his neck injury that kept him from playing against the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 16.
No Jayden Daniels, Laremy Tunsil or Daron Payne on Christmas.
The Cowboys are just 2-5 on the road this season while being 4-3-1 at home this season.
Dallas won the last meeting at AT&T Stadium back in Week 7 by doubling up Washington by a score of 44-22. It was stat sheet stuffing day in Dallas. Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott completed 21 of his 30 passes for 264 yards and three passing touchdowns, Cowboys running back Javonte Williams ran for 116 yards and a touchdown on 19 carries, wide receiver CeeDee Lamb caught five passes for 110 yards and a touchdown and tight end Jake Ferguson caught a career-high two touchdowns. Jayden Daniels left the game in the third quarter with a hamstring injury.
The Cowboys will set the record for the most such games in the regular and postseason combined, but the Chiefs will tie that record at night against the Denver Broncos. The Washington Commanders will play their first ever game on Christmas, which leaves just seven franchises (the Bills, Falcons, Panthers, Seahawks, Jaguars, Chargers and Patriots) without a game on Christmas.
