ARLINGTON, Texas — There are few bright spots, very few, when analyzing the woes of the Dallas Cowboys over the course of a 2024 season that has now seen them spiral to a 3-7 record on the heels of the 34-10 loss at the hands of the Houston Texans, but KaVontae Turpin was one who provided a light in the pitch dark.
The speedy wideout took a third down catch from Cooper Rush, on a slant pattern, no less, to the house for a 64-yard touchdown on Monday night — the longest of his career — the only touchdown of the night for the Cowboys.
And, also, the only touchdown in the past three outings at AT&T Stadium.
"We had a slant called and I knew they were in man coverage, so I knew I just had to beat the dude off the line cause he was in press [coverage]," said Turpin of the catch-and-run. "I just had to outrun the safety because he had a bad angle, and then I just took it to the house."
The latter part of that statement is saying the least, considering Turpin was clocked at 22.36 mph on the run, good enough for the fastest in the league since 2020 and the fastest Cowboys' ball carrier in the Next Gen Stats era that stretches back to 2016.
Even more impressive is that he says he wasn't running full speed.
"To be honest, I wasn't really running fast," he said. "I was just jogging. Once I figured out I was gone — I could run faster than that. If that was the fastest, just wait until you see me really run, for real."
Unfortunately for Turpin and the Cowboys, although that play shrunk the lead to just seven points at the time, in Dallas' third possession atop the second quarter, it turned out to be the only meaningful chunk play of the evening.
Once again, their fight was undone in the second half, where they've routinely met their demise in otherwise competitive contests. Often it's been in the third quarter but, on this occasion, it was the 14 points allowed in the fourth quarter that nailed the coffin closed.
Turpin was one showing a ton of fight though, quite literally, considering he was involved in a scuffle early in the game that sent the message the Cowboys wouldn't lay down and be embarrassed at home yet again.
He'd then make good on that vibe with the aforementioned touchdown.
"Being on special teams, I'm not going to get too many chances," Turpin said. "So when I do get my chance, I'm trying to take advantage of it. Guys [try] laying on top of me [after plays], but my guys are going to come and get me, so we had a scuffle — a fight.
"Just trying to give us some life going into that drive."
Now moving on to a daunting divisional matchup against the Washington Commanders, and on a short week, time will tell if Turpin gets another shot at attempting to inject some electricity into an offense that desperately craves it.
