4 takeaways from the Cowboys’ second preseason game vs. Chargers
By Mark Heaney
Somehow we are over halfway done with the preseason and under three weeks away from the Dallas Cowboys opening week matchup with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Things are moving quickly.
The NFL moved away from the standard four preseason game schedule, so Friday’s matchup against Seattle will conclude the warmup for Dallas, but many things still remain in question heading into the 2022 season.
Fortunately, Week 2 gave us some much-needed answers and sneak peeks into how the regular season could play out for the Cowboys. Major personnel decisions on special teams, the secondary, and the wide receiver room can be made much more easily now because of what we saw in Los Angeles.
Dallas has already started the process of cutting the roster down and shaping it based on some of the key moments from the game. Clearly, the Cowboys learned a lot from their matchup with the Chargers. Let’s talk about what some of those things are.
4 things we learned from the Cowboys’ second preseason game against the Chargers
1. KaVontae Turpin is the real deal.
It was an explosive night for the former USFL star, WR KaVontae Turpin. He ended the game with two special teams touchdowns: a kick return from 98 yards deep, and a punt return from 86 yards. The box score stats are obviously impressive, but what he showed on the field was the most electrifying part.
Turpin has elite speed, acceleration, and vision as a returner, and we can’t forget about his ability as a receiver either.
KaVontae Turpin is FAST 💨
— USFL (@USFL) August 22, 2022
Over the weekend he ran a top speed of 20.98 mph for the @dallascowboys 💪 pic.twitter.com/k1sxXOEPmG
Surely, if there was any leftover confusion or debate about who Dallas should have returning kicks, that talk is over. Turpin solidified his spot on the 53-man roster and will be the premier man for the Cowboys in the return game, giving Lamb and Pollard some rest time.
With Michael Gallup expected to miss time, and a lack of overall WR depth, it should be a surprise to no one if Kellen Moore tries to utilize Turpin’s track-star speed on offense as well. It sure was a big week for the former TCU Horned Frog.