Cowboys’ KaVontae Turpin’s muffed punt jumpstarts lifeless Texans
By Jerry Trotta

The Dallas Cowboys couldn’t have asked for a better start against the Houston Texans. Powered by Ezekiel Elliott and Tony Pollard, the offense marched 76 yards on the game’s initial drive to jump out to a 7-0 lead.
After getting off to grotesque starts in consecutive weeks against inferior opponent in the Giants and Colts, Sunday’s opening drive was a sight for sore eyes among fans. Even better? The defense followed the offense’s lead by forcing the Davis Mills-led Texans to go three and out on the ensuing drive.
Exactly what the doctor ordered … though Dallas’ momentum was short-lived after electrifying rookie KaVontae Turpin muffed the punt after signaling for a fair catch. Desperate for any semblance of a spark as a whopping17.5-point underdog, Turpin gave the Texans exactly that.
Gifted with a short field, Dameon Pierce nodded up the score with a goal line touchdown after a Cowboy offsides gave Houston 1st and goal from the one.
Dameon Pierce TD + Laremy Tunsil spike! #WeAreTexans
— NFL (@NFL) December 11, 2022
📺: #HOUvsDAL on FOX
📱: Stream on NFL+ https://t.co/VIs6xlIHaH pic.twitter.com/hNh1zGmiJz
Cowboys’ KaVontae Turpin’s muffed punt leads to Texans touchdown.
Turpin’s been a godsend for the Cowboys’ special teams. After winning the job during training camp and preseason, the TCU product is averaging 12.4 yards per punt return — which ranks seventh among specialists who’ve logged at least 10 returns — and an impressive 23.5 yards on kickoffs.
Long story short, Turpin has hardly put a foot wrong as Dallas’ lead return man. However, a simple lapse in concentration gave an anemic Texans team a sign of life, and his team suffered the consequence. Incredibly, this marked Houston’s first first quarter touchdown since Week 9 against the Eagles.
Over the last month of action, Lovie Smith’s side have compiled a total of three (!) points in the first quarter, per ESPN Stats and Info.
Per @ESPNStatsInfo, that was the Texans' first touchdown in the 1st quarter since Week 9 against the Eagles. In their last four games, they've had a total of 3 points in the 1st quarter.
— Todd Archer (@toddarcher) December 11, 2022
No, Turpin’s job isn’t in jeopardy. It would likely take another muff or two for that to even be considered. With a largely adversity-free rookie campaign up until Sunday, though, this untimely blunder better give the 26-year-old a needed wake-up call with the playoffs on the horizon.
As much as he’s capable of making defenders miss in the open field, the most important part of being a punt returner is fielding the punt. Can’t do anything without the ball.
Luckily for Turpin, the Cowboys were in a similar position in each of their previous two games, so they’re familiar with overcoming slow starts against weaker opponents. Fittingly, they responded to Houston taking a 10-7 lead with (another) Tony Pollard touchdown.
Of course, they never should’ve been playing from behind in the first place.