Cowboys news: Dallas still buzzing about KaVontae Turpin’s KO return TD

The latest and greatest Dallas Cowboys holiday week news.

New angle of KaVontae Turpin TD – Jerry Trotta, The Landry Hat

This is worth watching from every possible angle.

It is not an exaggeration to call that one of the best kick returns of all-time.

Turpin’s ability to improvise in a pinch after letting the ball bounce through his legs is so impressive. So many return specialists wouldn’t know what to do, but Turpin slowly baited the approaching gunners and uncorked a video-game spin move to forge a running lane. He took out six Commanders, but All-Pro special teamer Jeremy Reaves was his primary victim.

If there was any doubt that Turpin is the best return specialist in the NFL, that conversation should be put to rest now.

Every possible angle? Here’s one more, whoop whoop!

Also this:

NFL Week 12 grades: Cowboys earn ‘A-’ after shocking win – John Breech, CBSSports

A look back at the players that stepped up against Washington.

When you’re forced to start your backup quarterback, you need other players on the team to come up big, and that’s exactly what the Cowboys got on Sunday.

From Rico Dowdle to CeeDee Lamb to KaVontae Turpin to Juanyeh Thomas, the Cowboys had a lot of heroes in this game. Both Turpin and Thomas scored on kick return touchdowns, which both came in the fourth quarter.

The Cowboys defense looked like a brick wall for the first three quarters before struggling some during a fourth quarter where Washington put up 223 yards. Cooper Rush also deserves a lot of credit for the win: The Cowboys QB played smart football while throwing for 247 yards and two touchdowns.

The Cowboys might not be a playoff contender, but they just proved they can beat playoff contenders, which could help them play spoiler down the stretch.

2025 Super Bowl odds – Staff, Foxsports

Feeling particularly optimistic about the Cowboys today? Here are the 10 teams with the longest Super Bowl odds.

Cowboys undrafted player had a career day in week 12 – Shane Taylor, Inside The Star

If nothing else, the Cowboys are doing a great job evaluating what they have on the roster down the stretch of this tough season.

Josh Butler was picked on by the Commanders’ passing game all day.

But in the end, Butler held his own, and then some. He was credited with a team-high 12 tackles. He also had a sack on Jayden Daniels and had three pass deflections.

He is under contract until the end of 2025. That bolds [sic] well for a secondary that could be good if healthy next season with Diggs, Bland and Butler. Leaving Lewis in the slot.

One thing each NFL team has to be thankful for entering Week 13 – Jeffri Chadiha, NFL.com

Even returning home for Thanksgiving with a win, this Cowboys season has not gone to plan at all and changes are on the way.

A harsh dose of reality. It will be interesting to see how Cowboys owner Jerry Jones approaches this offseason, because this year has made it clear that this franchise needs some major changes. It’s no longer worth talking about those three consecutive 12-win seasons before this year or what could’ve been if this current team hadn’t been hammered by injuries to stars like quarterback Dak Prescott and linebacker Micah Parsons. The Cowboys have suffered four losses of 20 points or more this season, all at home. They pulled off a major upset in Sunday’s 34-26 win over Washington, but this team isn’t about to turn things around. The offense was bereft of weapons before Prescott underwent season-ending surgery for a torn hamstring, and the defense has been inept. There’s a lot of work to be done in Big D. This won’t be an easy fix.

NFL Thanksgiving Games: History, traditions and best moments – Todd Archer, ESPN.com

Veteran right guard Zack Martin talks about the tradition of playing on Thanksgiving.

Cowboys guard Zack Martin has grown accustomed to playing games on “Monday Night Football” and “Sunday Night Football,” but there’s something different about playing on Thanksgiving.

Martin grew up in Indianapolis and starred at Notre Dame before the Cowboys made him a first-round pick in 2014, and he would always watch the Lions play the early game and the Cowboys play later on the holiday.

“It may be different to the outside world, but for us I think it’s different because it’s just that tradition that you know the Cowboys play on Thanksgiving,” Martin said. “I didn’t grow up a Cowboys fan, but I always knew they played on Thanksgiving, so coming down here, being part of that is pretty cool.”

After the game, the Martins will eat at AT&T Stadium before returning home to relax. Their traditional Thanksgiving meal comes on Friday.

“For me, [the best part of the game] is just being able to have my family and everyone down for Thanksgiving,” Martin said. “Normally teams would miss that because they’re practicing during the week, but we get to play and then have some time with family and friends.” — Archer

Unheralded OL studs outplay Cowboys duds in upset victory over Commanders – Mike Crum, The Cowboys Wire

The Cowboys won on the road as ten-point underdogs with a backup QB and down two starting offensive linemen. That really happened.

The news that Zack Martin and Tyler Smith would both miss the game probably made fans who wanted Dallas to tank for a higher draft pick happy because the interior defensive tackles in Washington, Daron Payne, and Jer’Zhan Newton, could wreck the game. The Cowboys have struggled all season with their All-Pro guards available. This game looked like it would be a significant struggle, but rookie Cooper Beebe and undrafted free agents Brock Hoffman and T.J. Bass played well.

Rush was only sacked once on 32 pass plays, and lead back Rico Dowdle averaged 4.5 yards per carry. Procedure penalties came from the left tackle, and they didn’t commit a hold either. The interior of the Dallas offensive line not only survived in Washington but was one of the reasons the team got their first win since Week 5.

Cowboys day after thoughts following win over Commanders: Winning feels so good – RJ Ochoa, Blogging The Boys

Draft position and tanking talk aside, avoiding a six-game losing streak with a win over a division rival is never a bad thing.

There is something especially impressive about standing tall when everyone has counted you out like this

As we noted in the immediate aftermath of the game, the Cowboys won at Washington despite the game closing with them as double-digit point underdogs. That is so much fun.

This is true for just about anything in life. If someone tells you that you can’t skip a rock across a pond and you do it, you are satisfied. Proving people wrong is an amazing feeling.

That the Cowboys went on the road to face their former defensive coordinator, who was quite popular among fans, who is now the head coach of a division rival and one that has been feeling themselves as of late, so much so that they were such heavy favorites – to get a win – THAT win – wow that feels sweet.

Washington has been an interesting “rival” of sorts for Dallas as of late in that the rivalry hasn’t exactly been even for a long time. Consider that the Cowboys are now riding a three-game winning streak against the Washington franchise. It is the 12th winning streak of at least three games that Dallas has had against Washington, a favor their franchise has returned only twice all-time.

Victory tastes good.