Among the threats posed to the Houston Texans in their Week 14 matchup against the Dallas Cowboys will be the special teams unit hosted by their intrastate rivals. With a solid roster all around, the Cowboys host a plethora of talent on special teams, including their returner KaVontae Turpin, who is able to bust plays for huge gains if given any opportunity.
Frank Ross, Houston’s special teams coordinator, addressed the challenge of containing Turpin at the team’s Thursday press conference and pointed out all of the qualities that make him a dangerous return man. To hear Ross tell it, Turpin might be the biggest threat faced by Houston this week.
“Returners that you see that are most successful for return after return after return, you see the dynamic speed,” Ross said. “That is always there with him. You’re right. He does have an aggressive mentality, doesn’t want to fair catch. He wants to return the ball when given any chance, and then his ability to stretch and cut. When you’re in space, he’s not a big guy, so those jittery guys that can move and cut at full speed, that makes it difficult for singular tacklers in space. You have to make him slow and stop feet, that way the rest of coverage can rally and really shut down that space and close lanes.”
The Texans won’t be able to concede too many points in any phase of the game against Dallas, as they will be completely outmatched on paper on both sides of the ball. Their defense has proven that they can hold up their end of the bargain against talented opponents, but any scores that the special teams unit might concede could doom Houston’s efforts to secure their second win of the 2022 season with just five games remaining on their schedule.
