Dak Prescott dropped back on third-and-11 from his own 14-yard line, looked down the seam, and let it fly.
KaVontae Turpin caught it in stride at the 47 and left the Washington secondary in the dust, completing an 86-yard touchdown that gave Dallas a 21-3 lead and etched his name into NFL history. It was the longest touchdown in Christmas Day history — across 33 games dating back to 1971.
But then, almost as fast as Turpin ran into the end zone, his troubled past became a hot topic on social media.
KaVontae Turpin’s Record-Setting Christmas TD Can’t Outrun His Past
The Cowboys went on to beat the Commanders 30-23 in a game that featured Dallas converting all six of its fourth-down attempts. Prescott finished 19-of-37 for 307 yards and two touchdowns. But the most electric moment belonged to Turpin, whose 4.31 speed turned a desperation heave into the kind of highlight that gets replayed for decades.
“I told everybody to watch what KaVontae Turpin in this game and how they might use him in the offense,” Pro Football Hall of Famer Michael Irvin said on Netflix’s broadcast. “Then look what he and Dak Prescott did … hooked up for a huge play, a really electric play.”
The celebration barely had time to breathe before the internet did what the internet does. Within minutes, Turpin’s name was trending — but not just for the record. Searches for his arrest history spiked alongside clips of the touchdown.
DAK TO TURPIN FOR 86 YARDS 🔥
DALvsWAS on @Netflix pic.twitter.com/rChHLCd2YD
— NFL (@NFL) December 25, 2025
In July, Turpin was pulled over in Allen, Texas, clocked at 97 mph in a 70 mph zone. Officers found a 9mm pistol in plain view on the backseat and marijuana in the center console. He was booked on misdemeanor charges of unlawful carrying of a weapon and marijuana possession, then released on $1,500 bond. His case hasn’t gone to trial.
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That arrest came just four months after Dallas made him the highest-paid special teams player in NFL history with an $18 million, three-year extension. The Cowboys declined to comment at the time.
Coach Brian Schottenheimer later said Turpin “understands that there is a standard with how we conduct ourselves.”
Turpin’s TCU Dismissal and Domestic Violence Conviction
For Turpin, standards have been a moving target.
His college career at TCU ended abruptly in October 2018.
The day after returning a kickoff 99 yards for a touchdown against Oklahoma — his school-record sixth career special teams score — Turpin was arrested on assault charges involving his girlfriend.
When a second incident surfaced from March of that year in Las Cruces, New Mexico, involving the same woman, coach Gary Patterson dismissed him from the team.
According to court documents, Turpin “dragged her across the parking lot” and “slammed her to the ground” in the Fort Worth incident. In New Mexico, he allegedly grabbed and bruised both of her arms and slammed her phone on the counter.
Turpin pleaded guilty to assault causing bodily injury in 2019 and was sentenced to two years of deferred adjudication probation and a 27-week partner abuse intervention program.
“While KaVontae Turpin may have been a star on the football field, his actions here are unacceptable and will not [be] tolerated,” prosecutor Lloyd Whelchel said at the time.
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Turpin went undrafted. He bounced through the Indoor Football League, the Fan Controlled Football League, and the European League of Football before landing with the USFL’s New Jersey Generals in 2022. He won MVP, earned a Cowboys tryout, and built himself back into an All-Pro.
At 154 pounds, he’s the lightest player in the NFL. He’s also one of its most complicated. The league typically waits until cases are adjudicated before issuing personal conduct suspensions, but Turpin’s history of violence could factor into the equation. He may start 2026 on the suspended list.
On Christmas Day, he was just a blur racing toward the end zone, arms raised, record secured. The crowd roared. The Netflix cameras lingered. Somewhere, search engines churned out the rest of the story.
