KaVontae Turpin turns around botched kickoff for incredible 99-yard touchdown return
KaVontae Turpin may have saved today’s game for the Dallas Cowboys with a play on special teams.
After the Washington Commanders had cut the Cowboys’ margin to just a field goal’s difference with a little over three to play, Turpin returned the ensuing kickoff and spun before taking it for 99 yards and a touchdown to put Dallas back up by 10. He did so after initially having to go back for it after not receiving it off of a bounce, which made it that much further from one endzone to the other.
Turpin, the third-year receiver for the Cowboys, caught just one pass on offense this afternoon for eight yards. However, this was the play of the day for Dallas to get their lead back up to double digits with less than a minute before the two-minute warning during the divisional game in the NFC East.
That was after Jayden Daniels ran a nine-play drive through just over two minutes with a little more than five to play. He completed all seven of his throws before finding Zach Ertz with a touchdown pass. He then ran it in himself on the two-point conversion to bring an 11-point lead back down to three for Dallas.
The game would only get wilder, though, after Washington responded to Turpin’s return with a one-play touchdown pass from Daniels to Terry McLaurin. Still, Austin Seibert missed the extra point off of a bad snap to keep the Commanders down by a single point. Dallas then scored again on special teams with a return from an onside kick for Juanyeh Thomas. That would finally be it as Daniels would thrown an interception on his hail-mary attempt with the Cowboys eventually winning by a final score of 34-26.
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Turpin, Dallas’ leading returner on the year, now has one touchdown apiece between punts and kickoffs. He has returned 10 punts for 144 yards and a score, which came at Cleveland in the opener, and now has returned 21 kickoffs for 762 yards and this touchdown. Those are good for career-best averages as a returner for the one-time Pro Bowler.
Turpin’s kickoff was the first of several plays that led to the wild ending between Dallas and Washington. It was also one that helped the Cowboys score enough to end their five-game losing streak with their first victory in seven weeks.