Jacory Croskey-Merritt needed one snap to score from 72 yards out in the third quarter, and for a few minutes at Northwest Stadium, it looked like Washington might turn a lost Christmas into something worth talking about. It didn’t last. Dallas answered with a field goal on its next possession and closed out a 30-23 win in front of 64,407 fans and a national Netflix audience, the last real threat in a game between two teams that had nothing left to play for.
Dak Prescott threw for 307 yards and two touchdowns to push Dallas to 7-8-1, and his second score of the night tied a Cowboys record for 30-touchdown seasons that had belonged solely to Tony Romo. Washington fell to 4-12 with its tenth loss in eleven games, even though journeyman Josh Johnson made his first start since 2021 count, going 15 of 23 for 198 yards with no turnovers. “It was huge. Not playing for anything, you want to get on top,” Prescott said afterward.
The full match player stats from the game, including the box score, scoring plays and complete offensive and defensive numbers for both teams, are below.
Table of Contents
Final Score
| Team | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dallas Cowboys (7-8-1) | 7 | 17 | 3 | 3 | 30 |
| Washington Commanders (4-12) | 3 | 7 | 10 | 3 | 23 |
Game Information
| Date | Thursday, December 25, 2025 |
| Kickoff | 1:00 PM ET |
| Venue | Northwest Stadium, Landover, Md. |
| Attendance | 64,407 |
| Temperature | 50ยฐF |
| Time of Game | 3:05 |
| Referee | Brad Rogers |
| Broadcast | Netflix |
Game Leaders
| Category | Dallas Cowboys | Washington Commanders |
|---|---|---|
| Passing Yards | Dak Prescott (307 yds, 2 TD) | Josh Johnson (198 yds) |
| Rushing Yards | Malik Davis (103 yds) | Jacory Croskey-Merritt (105 yds, 2 TD) |
| Receiving Yards | KaVontae Turpin (86 yds, 1 TD) | Deebo Samuel (68 yds) |
| Sacks | Jadeveon Clowney (1.5) | Jer’Zhan Newton (3) |
| Tackles | Shemar James (6) | Bobby Wagner (10) |
Team Stats
Dallas out-gained Washington by 152 total yards and controlled the ball for nearly 39 minutes, converting all six of its fourth-down attempts. Neither team lost a fumble or threw an interception.
| Category | Dallas Cowboys | Washington Commanders |
|---|---|---|
| Total Yards | 480 | 328 |
| Passing Yards (net) | 269 | 190 |
| Yards per Pass | 6.3 | 7.6 |
| Rushing Yards | 211 | 138 |
| Total Plays | 87 | 41 |
| Yards per Play | 5.5 | 8.0 |
| 1st Downs | 28 | 17 |
| Passing 1st Downs | 13 | 10 |
| Rushing 1st Downs | 10 | 4 |
| 1st Downs by Penalty | 5 | 3 |
| 3rd Down Efficiency | 8/20 | 1/6 |
| 4th Down Efficiency | 6/6 | 0/0 |
| Red Zone (Made-Att) | 2/2 | 1/3 |
| Penalties (No.-Yds) | 11-89 | 10-71 |
| Sacks Allowed-Yards | 6-38 | 2-8 |
| Turnovers | 0 | 0 |
| Time of Possession | 38:44 | 21:16 |
Scoring Summary
| Qtr | Clock | Team | Scoring Play | Drive | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 9:42 | Dallas | Jake Ferguson 6-yd pass from Dak Prescott (Aubrey kick) | 13 plays, 78 yds | 7-0 |
| 1st | 4:44 | Washington | Jake Moody 29-yd field goal | 8 plays, 65 yds | 7-3 |
| 2nd | 12:06 | Dallas | Javonte Williams 4-yd run (Aubrey kick) | 17 plays, 65 yds | 14-3 |
| 2nd | 7:00 | Dallas | KaVontae Turpin 86-yd pass from Prescott (Aubrey kick) | 5 plays, 97 yds | 21-3 |
| 2nd | 4:35 | Washington | Jacory Croskey-Merritt 10-yd run (Moody kick) | 5 plays, 60 yds | 21-10 |
| 2nd | 0:19 | Dallas | Brandon Aubrey 42-yd field goal | 12 plays, 51 yds | 24-10 |
| 3rd | 9:34 | Washington | Jacory Croskey-Merritt 72-yd run (Moody kick) | 1 play, 72 yds | 24-17 |
| 3rd | 4:42 | Dallas | Brandon Aubrey 52-yd field goal | 11 plays, 53 yds | 27-17 |
| 3rd | 0:16 | Washington | Jake Moody 23-yd field goal | 10 plays, 60 yds | 27-20 |
| 4th | 3:59 | Dallas | Brandon Aubrey 51-yd field goal | 14 plays, 52 yds | 30-20 |
| 4th | 2:09 | Washington | Jake Moody 51-yd field goal | 7 plays, 39 yds | 30-23 (Final) |
Passing Stats
Prescott finished 19 of 37 for 307 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions, absorbing six sacks along the way. Johnson made his first start since 2021 and went 15 of 23 for 198 yards without turning the ball over.
Dallas Cowboys
| Player | C/ATT | Yds | Avg | TD | INT | Sacks | QBR | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dak Prescott | 19/37 | 307 | 8.3 | 2 | 0 | 6-38 | 59.4 | 97.5 |
Washington Commanders
| Player | C/ATT | Yds | Avg | TD | INT | Sacks | QBR | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Josh Johnson | 15/23 | 198 | 8.6 | 0 | 0 | 1-8 | 21.3 | 92.3 |
| Treylon Burks | 0/0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 1-0 | 0.7 | 0.0 |
Rushing Stats
More than half of Washington’s 138 rushing yards came on one play, Croskey-Merritt’s 72-yard touchdown, part of a 105-yard day on just 11 carries. Dallas leaned on a rotation led by Malik Davis, who ran 20 times for 103 yards.
Dallas Cowboys
| Player | Car | Yds | Avg | TD | Long |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Malik Davis | 20 | 103 | 5.2 | 0 | 21 |
| Javonte Williams | 13 | 54 | 4.2 | 1 | 9 |
| Hunter Luepke | 7 | 30 | 4.3 | 0 | 8 |
| Dak Prescott | 4 | 24 | 6.0 | 0 | 12 |
| Team Totals | 44 | 211 | 4.8 | 1 | 21 |
Washington Commanders
| Player | Car | Yds | Avg | TD | Long |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jacory Croskey-Merritt | 11 | 105 | 9.5 | 2 | 72 |
| Deebo Samuel | 2 | 25 | 12.5 | 0 | 29 |
| Josh Johnson | 2 | 10 | 5.0 | 0 | 5 |
| Jeremy McNichols | 1 | -2 | -2.0 | 0 | -2 |
| Team Totals | 16 | 138 | 8.6 | 2 | 72 |
Receiving Stats
KaVontae Turpin turned his only target of the game into an 86-yard touchdown. George Pickens and CeeDee Lamb were the secondary options for Dallas, combining for 124 yards on nine catches, while Deebo Samuel and Terry McLaurin combined for 131 yards on Washington’s side.
Dallas Cowboys
| Player | Rec | Tgts | Yds | Avg | TD | Long |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| KaVontae Turpin | 1 | 1 | 86 | 86.0 | 1 | 86 |
| George Pickens | 4 | 5 | 78 | 19.5 | 0 | 21 |
| CeeDee Lamb | 5 | 10 | 46 | 9.2 | 0 | 24 |
| Brevyn Spann-Ford | 1 | 2 | 31 | 31.0 | 0 | 31 |
| Jalen Tolbert | 4 | 8 | 31 | 7.8 | 0 | 14 |
| Luke Schoonmaker | 2 | 2 | 15 | 7.5 | 0 | 10 |
| Hunter Luepke | 1 | 1 | 14 | 14.0 | 0 | 14 |
| Jake Ferguson | 1 | 2 | 6 | 6.0 | 1 | 6 |
| Malik Davis | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Javonte Williams | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jonathan Mingo | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Team Totals | 19 | 36 | 307 | 16.2 | 2 | 86 |
Washington Commanders
| Player | Rec | Tgts | Yds | Avg | TD | Long |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Deebo Samuel | 2 | 4 | 68 | 34.0 | 0 | 41 |
| Terry McLaurin | 5 | 7 | 63 | 12.6 | 0 | 16 |
| Ben Sinnott | 3 | 4 | 29 | 9.7 | 0 | 12 |
| Chris Moore | 1 | 1 | 15 | 15.0 | 0 | 15 |
| Jeremy McNichols | 3 | 3 | 12 | 4.0 | 0 | 7 |
| Treylon Burks | 1 | 2 | 11 | 11.0 | 0 | 11 |
| Team Totals | 15 | 21 | 198 | 13.2 | 0 | 41 |
Defensive Stats
Jer’Zhan Newton set a new single-game career high with three sacks; his previous best in a game had been one. Bobby Wagner led all players with 10 tackles, five of them unassisted.
Dallas Cowboys
| Player | Tot | Solo | Sacks | TFL | PD | QB Hits | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shemar James | 6 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Shavon Revel Jr. | 6 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Reddy Steward | 5 | 2 | 0.5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Jadeveon Clowney | 4 | 3 | 1.5 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| Donovan Wilson | 4 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Quinnen Williams | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Malik Hooker | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| James Houston | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Markquese Bell | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Kenneth Murray Jr. | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| C.J. Goodwin | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Solomon Thomas | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Osa Odighizuwa | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Trevon Diggs | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sam Williams | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Kenny Clark | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Brevyn Spann-Ford | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Corey Ballentine | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Marist Liufau | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Alijah Clark | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Donovan Ezeiruaku | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Team Totals | 52 | 23 | 2 | 6 | 3 | 6 | 0 |
Washington Commanders
| Player | Tot | Solo | Sacks | TFL | PD | QB Hits | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bobby Wagner | 10 | 5 | 0.5 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| Will Harris | 10 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jer’Zhan Newton | 9 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| Javon Kinlaw | 7 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Frankie Luvu | 7 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Jeremy Reaves | 6 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Mike Sainristil | 6 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Noah Igbinoghene | 6 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Ricky Barber | 5 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Jalyn Holmes | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jordan Magee | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Jacob Martin | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Shy Tuttle | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Von Miller | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Quan Martin | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Preston Smith | 2 | 0 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Chris Moore | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Tyler Owens | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jonathan Jones | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Sheldon Day | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Percy Butler | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Drake Jackson | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Team Totals | 95 | 45 | 6 | 4 | 8 | 11 | 0 |
Special Teams Stats
Brandon Aubrey made 3 of 4 field goals, including a 52-yarder, and Jake Moody matched him kick for kick, going a perfect 3 for 3 on Washington’s three scoring drives that ended short of the end zone.
Kicking
| Player | Team | FG | Pct | Long | XP | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brandon Aubrey | DAL | 3/4 | 75.0 | 52 | 3/3 | 12 |
| Jake Moody | WSH | 3/3 | 100.0 | 51 | 2/2 | 11 |
Punting
| Player | Team | No | Yds | Avg | TB | In 20 | Long |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bryan Anger | DAL | 1 | 53 | 53.0 | 0 | 0 | 53 |
| Tress Way | WSH | 3 | 130 | 43.3 | 0 | 3 | 53 |
Kick Returns
| Player | Team | No | Yds | Avg | Long | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| KaVontae Turpin | DAL | 5 | 115 | 23.0 | 26 | 0 |
| DAL Team Totals | DAL | 5 | 115 | 23.0 | 26 | 0 |
| Chase Edmonds | WSH | 4 | 90 | 22.5 | 27 | 0 |
| Chris Moore | WSH | 1 | 33 | 33.0 | 33 | 0 |
| WSH Team Totals | WSH | 5 | 123 | 24.6 | 33 | 0 |
Punt Returns
| Player | Team | No | Yds | Avg | Long | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| River Cracraft | WSH | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
Dallas did not attempt a punt return.
Injuries
- Cowboys: RB Javonte Williams (shoulder), TE Jake Ferguson (calf, did not return after halftime)
- Commanders: C Tyler Biadasz (right knee and ankle)
Milestones
Prescott’s two touchdown passes gave him 30 for the season, matching the Cowboys’ record for 30-touchdown seasons that Tony Romo set across four different years. Prescott also passed Troy Aikman that day for the most pass attempts in franchise history, a total that reached 4,716. On the other side of the ball, Von Miller’s half-sack moved him into a tie with John Randle for 10th on the NFL’s all-time sacks list at 137.5.
None of it moved either team in the standings. Dallas and Washington had already been eliminated from playoff contention before the opening kickoff, and both finished the day exactly where they started. What the game left behind was a stat sheet worth remembering anyway: a franchise passing record, a career-high sack total for Newton, and a 72-yard touchdown run that took all of ten seconds off the clock.
