Receiver KaVontae Turpin nearly cost the Dallas Cowboys dearly in their frantic 34-26 victory over the Washington Commanders on Sunday. And then, he turned into the beleaguered Cowboys’ hero.

With 3:02 on the lock, the speedy returner muffed a Commanders kickoff with his team clinging to a 20-17 victory. Backed up to his own goal line, Turpin picked up the ball and accelerated.

After coming face-to-face with the return team around the 20, the Cowboys‘ return man hit a vicious spin to create space and burst towards the sidelines. Turpin used his elite speed to cruise into the endzone and give his side a 27-17 victory to seemingly put the game out of reach. Fox commentator Joe Davis could hardly contain himself on the call.

“Line drive to Turpin and it bounces through his leg, here he comes…KeVontae Turpin, spinning free, HERE HE GOES! Fastest man in the NFL, KevTontae Turpin, takes it all the way, touchdown Dallas!”

Davis referenced how Turpin hit a top-speed of 22.36 MPH last week, the fastest mark by any player in the NFL this season.

Turpin’s return on Sunday was the first kickoff return touchdown of his career. The 28-year-old special teamer was a Pro Bowler in 2022 and has one of the more unique stories in the NFL.

He was a star returner at TCU, returning six kicks for touchdowns. Turpin went undrafted in the 2018 NFL Draft and embarked on a nomadic semi-professional career in amateur football.

The Cowboys specialist spent time in the Indoor Football League, the United Football League, and with the Panther Wroclaw in Poland before earning a spot in Dallas.

Somehow, Turpin’s dramatic touchdown was hardly the most bizarre play from the end of the Cowboys-Commanders contest. Washington scored on the ensuing drive to cut the score to 27-20 and forced Dallas to punt.

With 21 seconds left, quarterback Jayden Daniels connected with receiver Terry McLaurin for an improbable 86-yard touchdown to put the Commanders down one… only for kicker Austin Siebert to miss his second extra point of the game (courtesy of a poor snap).

Dallas returned the ensuing onside kick for a score to ice the game at 34-26, though Daniels and company had one attempted shot at a hail mary which ended in an interception.

Considering the contest stood 3-3 at halftime, it’s quite surprising how Cowboys-Commanders turned into arguably the game of the year.