The Washington Commanders‘ Northwest Stadium is consistently ranked one of the worst venues in the NFL, with accessibility issues, plumbing problems that have gone viral, and architectural failures that have literally left fans falling from the stands onto the field. There are currently plans for the team to leave Landover, Maryland for a shiny new $3.7 billion stadium to be built closer to the U.S. Capitol.

But Cowboys wide receiver and return man KaVontae Turpin is sure going to miss the old place.

“I’ll just say I like playing here,” he said Thursday after the Cowboys’ Week 17 win. “I did something here last year; I did something here this year. So yeah, it’s one of my favorite places I like to play.”

The 30-23 Christmas Day victory was, in large part, sparked by Turpin’s 86-yard touchdown bolt that gave the Cowboys a three-score lead midway through the second quarter. The electrifying catch-and-run was the longest reception of Turpin’s career.

“I try to remind everybody, man,” Turpin told reporters following the game. “I try to show excitement to the fans, show them what they came here for. That’s me when I get the ball. I always just try to make a play.”

It’s something that comes naturally for Turpin, but it seems to happen with regularity on this particular field. It was at Northwest Stadium in Week 12 last year when he mishandled a kickoff, backtracked to retrieve it at the 1-yard-line (of the same end zone as Thursday’s score) and then proceeded to turn in one of the highlights of the league’s 2024 season with a full-360-degree spin and a 99-yard return for a touchdown.

On Thursday, Turpin once again left Commanders defenders grasping at air on a play whose outcome was obvious to everyone while the speedy 29-year-old All-Pro was still quite a long way from the goal line.

“I knew he wasn’t getting caught, by the way. When he caught it, I was like, ‘Bye-bye,'” Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer said in his postgame press conference.

“[The defense] went to what we call ‘tricky-2,’ where they trying to ask guys that probably aren’t used to running with guys that run 4.2 down the middle of the field.”

Spreading CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens wide to either side of the field to invite double coverage in a 3rd-and-long situation set the table. But then a Commanders miscue also helped Prescott get the play off to an even faster start.

“They key to that one was [the defense] actually jumped offsides, and we pulled the ball faster,” Prescott explained to the media after the win. “I think with the jump offsides and those guys trying to panic in getting back, Turp did a good job of getting over the top. Obviously, I saw it, and with a guy like that, you just want to put it down the middle and give him a chance. He went and did the rest.”

The exact play was one Dallas has run- using Turpin and against Washington- in recent memory, Schottenheimer revealed. In Week 12 of 2023, this time at AT&T Stadium, Prescott and Turpin connected for 34 yards and a touchdown on the exact same call.

“Turp affects the game in so many ways,” the coach explained. “That’s what you love about him, because if they do want to try to double the outside studs, Turp can hurt you in so many ways.”

Turpin has certainly made a habit of hurting the Commanders and their fans, often in their own house. So as the Washington faithful filed out of Northwest Stadium to go spend the remainder of Christmas licking their wounds, it was Prescott and Turpin who were playing Grinch, devouring roast beast and clad in red fur-lined robes given by Netflix to the players of the game.

After his latest dynamic display in the DMV, Turpin said that Santa Claus get-up would be getting some extra wear come Dec. 26, too.

“I’m keeping it. Yeah, I’m wearing that tomorrow when my kids open their presents.”

He already gave Cowboys Nation an awfully good one the day before.

Todd is on X at @ToddBrock24f7. Also, follow Cowboys Wire on Facebook to join in on the conversation with fellow fans!