This season has felt like a long uphill trudge for the Dallas Cowboys. Some of the issues have fixed themselves, but one problem keeps hanging around like a loose shingle in a winter storm: the return game. KaVontae Turpin, an All-Pro a year ago, hasn’t come close to the spark he provided in 2024. The good news? He knows exactly where the fixes need to start.

“If we can get stuff started with the gunners and stuff, I think I can get back to my old self,” Turpin said in regard to punt returns. “We just have to get that thing started.”

A year ago, Turpin was one of the most dangerous returners in the league. Now, Dallas sits 25th in kickoff-return average at 24.9 yards and 29th in punt-return average. No one expected it to be this bad before the season started.

Special teams coordinator Nick Sorensen and Turpin have both pointed to the same issue: finishing blocks. Earlier in the week, Sorensen noted that on kickoff coverage against Detroit, his guys weren’t shedding blocks and, in some cases, weren’t getting calls on holds.

Turpin applied the same message to the return side. He hinted that his blockers need to stay engaged longer and give him cleaner lanes. Fassel has said it plainly: if Turpin is going to spring a big one, all ten blockers have to finish the play. Not most of them. All ten.

Brian Schottenheimer spent a good chunk of his time tightening the screws on the defense. That work shows. Now the attention shifts to an area that used to tilt the games in their favor. The return game was a real edge for them a year ago. Right now, it’s not only failing to help, but as bad as the return unit is, the coverage might be even worse.

Cowboys’ kickoff coverage was exposed last week

The Cowboys’ kicking coverage issues were very much evident in last week’s loss to the Lions. Dallas couldn’t get Detroit’s offense on schedule because Matt Eberflus’ defense kept inheriting short fields. When you give up 261 yards on eight kickoff returns, you’re spotting the opponent a head start every single time.

And the part that really stings? Tom Kennedy wasn’t even the Lions’ usual return man. He only stepped in because Kalif Raymond was out with an ankle injury. Kennedy came into the night with 89 kickoff return yards in 2021 and 167 last year. He walked away from this one with 120 on just three returns. That’s how bad it got.

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Dallas has now allowed 1,620 kickoff return yards, the fourth-highest total in the league behind the Bills, Colts, and Bucs. From the opening kick Thursday, Detroit dictated field position: starts at the 36, 47, 41, 49, and twice at the 32. Not a single stop inside the 25.

And it’s not getting easier this week for Brian Schottenheimer and Dak Prescott, who led the Cowboys to a comeback victory over the Eagles on November 23, as he became the franchise leader in yards passing. Minnesota comes in averaging 26.23 yards per return, one of the better marks in the league. If Dallas doesn’t get something fixed in a hurry, the Vikings could flip the field the same way Detroit did. The Cowboys cannot afford any more slip-ups.