Dak Prescott breaks Tony Romo's franchise record as Cowboys beat Commanders 37-20 in home opener

Dak Prescott broke Tony Romo's franchise record for touchdown passes by throwing four in the Dallas Cowboys' 37-20 win over the Washington Commanders on Sunday.

Prescott's record-breaking TD toss was a 24-yarder to receiver CeeDee Lamb in the fourth quarter, the 249th of his career. It was their second TD connection of the game after Prescott had already thrown a pair to tight end Jake Ferguson. The 33-year-old Prescott has thrown 37 TDs to Lamb, the most of any target.

"They spend a lot of time together, man," Cowboys Head Coach Brian Schottenheimer said. "They throw a lot of balls together. And it was really great to see Dak break the record at home to CeeDee. I thought George [Pickens] made some really tough catches at really big times for us. Ryan Flournoy, Fergie [Jake Ferguson], a couple touchdowns. I just thought the passing game was hitting on all cylinders today."

"I mean, the man, you can't talk about Dak, the player, without starting with the man," Schottenheimer continued. "The man is unique. He's just special ... The way he plays this game, the way he leads us is special. He's a unique, special, special man and blessed to be able to coach him."  

The only major category left for Prescott to take over first place in the history of the storied franchise will be victories.

The 2016 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year has 84 regular-season wins. Three-time Super Bowl winner Troy Aikman had 94, and two-time champ Roger Staubach had 85. The Cowboys haven't reached an NFC championship game since winning their fifth Super Bowl title during the 1995 season.

Romo had his 248 passing TDs from 2006-16. Prescott took his job as a rookie 10 years ago when Romo injured his back in the preseason. Romo was the backup when he was healthy again and threw his final touchdown pass in a cameo appearance in a meaningless regular-season finale for the playoff-bound Cowboys.

"I was a big fan of Romo. I was a fan of the Cowboys and so it led into being a fan of the quarterback of the Cowboys," said Prescott. "And then I get drafted here and I remember sitting in meetings listening to him and Scott talk and they were talking so far over my head. I'm like, 'Man, this is going to be tough to get on the field.' I had no idea what they were talking about. They were talking about building plays and formations. Just his knowledge for this game. Obviously, that's evident just who he is, and even him calling games on broadcast, you can tell that. That's what stands out to me, his command, being able to call his own offense and, then, just ultimately the accuracy. Being able to make any throw and every throw from whatever position he's in is something that I've always admired and looked up to. And thankful for the relationship that me and Tony have. Tony always has been great to me. Even that year with whatever and everything that went down, he was a great supporter. He was there to help me on the sideline all the way throughout the year. And when we've been able to connect in the off-seasons or if I've asked a favor or vice versa, it's been mutual. So I'm super thankful for him."  

Dak Prescott throws 4 TD passes as Cowboys beat Commanders

The Cowboys (1-1) led 17-10 with the Commanders on the Dallas 1-yard line with 3 seconds remaining in the first half. Left guard Chris Paul stepped on quarterback Jayden Daniels' foot as he backed away from center, and Daniels' left elbow appeared to bend the wrong way as he braced himself and threw a wild pass that was incomplete as time expired.

Daniels stayed down momentarily, then started to walk to the sideline before going to the turf again. Upon seeing a video replay of the injury, Fox NFL analyst Tom Brady uttered a profanity.

Daniels' head was covered in a towel as he left the field on a cart several minutes after all the Dallas players and most of the Washington players had gone to their locker rooms.

Daniels missed all but one game in the second half of last season after dislocating his non-throwing elbow in a blowout loss to Seattle last November.

Marcus Mariota replaced Daniels, and he connected with Stefon Diggs for his second TD catch of the game to get Washington (0-2) within 30-20 with 9 minutes remaining.

Prescott led an 11-play drive the other way that ended with Lamb's 24-yard touchdown. The 33-year-old in his 11th season went 26 of 32 for 279 yards without an interception and extended his home winning streak against NFC East rivals to 20 games.

Before the injury, Daniels kept the Commanders close with his mobility. He had an 18-yard scramble on a drive that ended in a field goal and then a 20-yarder before his 4-yard touchdown pass to Diggs.

The Commanders were out of timeouts when they had a first down at the Dallas 1 trailing 17-10 with 12 seconds left in the first half. Daniels threw two incompletions, leaving 3 seconds for the play on which he was injured.

Daniels had 69 yards on seven carries while going 11 of 17 for 96 yards passing.

Cowboys' S P.J. Locke was helped off the field after injuring a foot away from contact on Dallas' first defensive series and didn't return. CB Cobie Durant injured a hamstring in the first half and didn't return.

The Cowboys play Baltimore in Rio de Janeiro next Sunday.