Dak Prescott enters Sunday’s home opener against the Washington Commanders with another Cowboys milestone in sight. The quarterback has 245 career touchdown passes, three behind Tony Romo’s franchise record of 248, and a four-touchdown afternoon at AT&T Stadium would move Prescott past Romo.
Prescott closes in on Romo’s Cowboys mark
Romo threw his 248 touchdown passes during a Dallas career that ran from 2006 through 2016. Prescott, the Cowboys’ fourth-round pick in 2016, can tie the mark with three scoring throws and take sole possession with a fourth against Washington at 4:25 p.m. ET Sunday on Fox.
Prescott said he believes he can recall every touchdown he has thrown. His first came in Week 3 of his rookie year, when he hit Dez Bryant on a 17-yard slant against the Chicago Bears. That game also brought Prescott’s first NFL win at AT&T Stadium.
Rather than naming a single favorite, Prescott pointed to the moments that decided games or came late in the fourth quarter as the throws that stay with him most.
- Prescott has thrown touchdown passes to 39 different players.
- Ten members of the current roster are among those receivers.
- CeeDee Lamb leads all Prescott targets with 35 touchdown catches.
- Eleven players have caught exactly one touchdown from Prescott.
- Prescott has produced four touchdown passes against Washington four times, most recently in Dallas’ 38-10 Week 18 victory in 2023.
Lamb, Witten and Steele recall major Dallas scores
Lamb’s top choice was Prescott’s 92-yard touchdown strike against the Detroit Lions in Week 17 of the 2023 season. Facing third-and-13 from the Cowboys’ 8-yard line in the first quarter, Prescott escaped linebacker Derrick Barnes near his own goal line and moved right before launching the ball downfield.
Detroit cornerback Kindle Vildor fell before Lamb made the catch around midfield and raced untouched to the end zone. Lamb said Prescott defeated the blitz while he extended his route during the scramble. The receiver called it his favorite touchdown from Prescott and said the long, unpressured run was unlikely to be repeated.
The play stood as Prescott’s longest career completion, Lamb’s longest reception and the second-longest completion in Cowboys history. It was also Lamb’s 111th reception of that season, tying Michael Irvin’s franchise single-season record before Lamb later surpassed it.
Jason Witten selected Prescott’s overtime touchdown against the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 8 of the 2016 season. Dallas had been down 23-13 early in the fourth quarter before Prescott found Bryant for a touchdown with 3:04 remaining to force overtime.
On second-and-goal from the Eagles’ 5, Prescott escaped pressure and shifted left as defenders closed in. Witten stopped in the end zone instead of continuing to mirror the quarterback’s movement, giving Prescott a clear target for the game-winning score in a 29-23 result.
Witten said both players recognized the opening immediately, adding that even a slight delay could have prevented the completion against veteran defender Mike Jenkins. The score was Prescott’s first touchdown pass to Witten, on a night when the tight end set the Cowboys’ career starts record and matched Lee Roy Jordan’s team mark for consecutive starts.
Right tackle Terence Steele’s lone NFL reception is also one of Prescott’s touchdown passes. In Week 16 of 2021 against Washington, Steele lined up at left tackle before shifting beside right tackle La’el Collins as a jumbo tight end. He reported as eligible, then heard Prescott call “Red Raider report,” a reference to Steele’s Texas Tech background.
With Dallas already ahead 28-7 in the second quarter, Steele was supposed to sell his block before releasing toward the end zone. Prescott placed the ball directly in his hands for the score from the 1-yard line. Steele became the first Cowboys offensive lineman since the 1970 merger to catch a touchdown, and Prescott finished the 56-14 win with four scoring passes.
Steele launched the football into a field suite during his celebration, but Ezekiel Elliott recovered it. Steele later had the ball framed and keeps it in his office.
Current Cowboys describe Prescott’s improvised plays
George Pickens caught nine touchdowns from Prescott in his first Dallas season. While Pickens initially considered a 34-yard slant-and-run touchdown against the Carolina Panthers in Week 6 of 2025, he settled on a deep connection against the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 16.
On second-and-2 from the Chargers’ 38, Pickens used an outside release against cornerback Cam Hart and created room with a stop-and-go move. Prescott’s throw carried deeper than Pickens expected, requiring him to adjust his speed. Pickens said the two had practiced that type of downfield connection repeatedly.
Jake Ferguson’s choice came after an extended touchdown drought. He had not scored since Nov. 30, 2023, against Seattle, a 22-game stretch that included Prescott missing nine games in 2024 because of a hamstring avulsion.
Ferguson finally ended the skid against the Green Bay Packers in Week 4 of 2025. He shifted from a wing alignment before the snap, drew cornerback Nate Hobbs in coverage and got inside position at the goal line. Ferguson used his body to protect the throw on second-and-6 from the 8, giving Dallas a third-quarter lead.
Ferguson described the catch as a major release, while Prescott calmly greeted him with, “Welcome back.” Ferguson went on to establish a career best with eight touchdown receptions in 2025.
Brandin Cooks pointed to a touchdown against Washington in Week 12 of 2023 that developed from work done during the practice week. Having repeatedly run corner routes from the slot, Cooks believed defenders would jump another break toward the sideline.
On first-and-10 from Washington’s 31, Cooks sold the corner route, planted and cut back across the field. Safety Percy Butler drove toward the outside route, leaving Cooks free of cornerback Benjamin St-Juste. Prescott, rolling right under pressure, released early for a 31-yard touchdown.
Late 2025 touchdowns show Prescott’s awareness
Reserve tight end Brevyn Spann-Ford made his first NFL touchdown memorable in Week 12 of 2025 against Philadelphia. Prescott faked a handoff to Javonte Williams and rolled right, initially looking toward Lamb, who was covered by two defenders.
Spann-Ford was the next option but collided with Eagles safety Andrew Mukuba before entering his route. Mukuba fell, disrupting the tight end’s balance, and Spann-Ford needed six steps to recover. Prescott waited near the sideline until Spann-Ford looked back and delivered the pass from the Eagles’ 4-yard line.
The touchdown helped Dallas erase Philadelphia’s 21-0 second-quarter advantage in a 24-21 victory. The following day, Spann-Ford brought the football to Prescott for an autograph. Prescott had not initially realized it was the rookie’s first touchdown ball, then embraced him after learning the significance of the moment.
Williams chose Prescott’s touchdown pass against the Kansas City Chiefs one week later. On third-and-goal from the 3, Prescott appeared ready to run as pressure arrived, but two Chiefs defenders converged. He flipped a short pass to Williams at the last moment.
Williams said the two had established eye contact and exchanged a subtle head movement before the throw. Dallas was trailing about 21-20 at the time, and Williams admitted his immediate thought was simply not to drop what became the go-ahead score.
The Chiefs win came after the comeback over Philadelphia, giving Dallas consecutive victories over the teams that had played in the previous season’s Super Bowl.
