Speed kills in the NFL. Even more so in flag football.

So it’s perhaps no surprise that Cowboys return specialist KaVontae Turpin, easily one of the fastest men in the league, stood out even among the sport’s all-stars in the flag football finale of the 2025 Pro Bowl Games in Orlando.

But Turpin being the NFC’s most impactful defensive player? That wasn’t on anyone’s bingo card.

The third-year pro had an outstanding season, despite the Cowboys’ thoroughly underwhelming 7-10 record. Of all kick returners leaguewide who had more than 12 chances, Turpin’s 33.6-yard average was tops, and his 10.9-yard punt return average was seventh-highest among those with double-digit tries. Most notably, he was the only player in the NFL to return both a punt and a kickoff for a touchdown in 2024, with his 99-yard spin-move house call versus Washington serving as one of the most electrifying moments of the entire 272-game schedule.

Special teams is what put him into his second Pro Bowl, one of five Cowboys honored with a berth this year. But Cowboys fans saw Turpin take a leap in his pass-catching prowess, too. After being used only sparingly in the passing attack over his first two seasons, the 28-year-old was Dallas’s fourth-most-targeted wide receiver, earning his first two starts at WR and finishing the 2024 campaign with 31 catches for 420 yards (all far and away career-highs) while playing on nearly 27% of the offense’s snaps.

But it was Turpin’s pass-rush skills that caught everyone’s attention on Sunday. Sent on with the defense by NFC coach Eli Manning, Turpin used his otherworldly quickness to catch Joe Burrow well behind the line of scrimmage for one sack on a two-point conversion attempt…

…And then pinned Russell Wilson for a nine-yard loss later in the game.

All told, Turpin ended the exhibition with five tackles, including a touchdown-saving stop when he chased down Brian Thomas Jr. from behind and pulled his flag at the 1-yard-line.

It was a dominant effort playing a completely foreign position, enough so that Turpin himself thought he’d be coming home with some hardware.

“I feel like on defense on the blitz I got the quarterbacks rattled and had them throwing fast balls,” Turpin said per the Orlando Sentinel. “I was supposed to win MVP. I don’t know why they didn’t give it to me. But it’s all fun and games and I feel like everybody had fun and it was all worth it.”

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(Jared Goff and Byron Murphy ended up taking home the MVP trophies after the NFC’s 76-63 win.)

Turpin’s performance, though, may have some legitimately wondering if he’ll be deserving of a spot on the Team USA roster when flag football makes its debut at the 2028 Olympic Games. At the very least, maybe new Cowboys defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus would want to consider designing a few special packages that use Turpin in 2026.

Of course, Turpin may find a bit more pass-rush resistance when the opposing team is allowed to deploy actual offensive linemen.

But for one day in Orlando, at least, Turpin was a one-man wrecking crew… on defense.