LOS ANGELES — The Dallas Cowboys have found their return specialist, and if there was any question as to whether he would be on the 53-man roster this fall, that question was answered with two numbers on Saturday.
98 and 86.
KaVontae Turpin opened up his virtuoso first half with a 98-yard kickoff return for a touchdown to give the Cowboys a 7-3 lead in the first quarter. Turpin made one move at the 40-yard line, and then turned on the jets and outran everyone for the Cowboys first score of the day.
But it was the punt return that was even more impressive. Turpin took the punt at the 14, hopped backward to make the first man miss, moved left, then cutback against the grain and found daylight. And when Turpin, with his speed, finds daylight... it's over. Turpin outran the punter and scored with ease, on an 86-yard punt return, to give Dallas a 22-10 lead late in the first half.
Take his shoulder pads. He doesn't need to play anymore tonight. He's on the team.
