Cowboys pull off rare feat that’s never been seen before in NFL history, plus 11 more wild stats from Week 12

The Dallas Cowboys pulled off one of the most shocking wins of Week 12 and they made NFL history in the process. 

The Cowboys had TWO DIFFERENT PLAYERS return a kickoff for a touchdown during their 34-26 win over the Washington Commanders, becoming just the fourth team ever to have two different players take a kickoff to the house in the same game. They were also the the first team to pull off that feat since 1998, but that’s not the history-making part. 

The Cowboys made history because they became the FIRST TEAM in league history to have two kickoff-return touchdowns in the FOURTH QUARTER of a game, and the impressive part for Dallas is that both returns happened in the final three minutes. 

KaVontae Turpin started off the craziness when he return a kickoff 99 yards for a touchdown with just 2:49 left to play. The ball actually bounced past Turpin, who had to go back to the 1-yard line to pick it up, but then he made up for that by sprinting 99 yards for the score. 

Juanyeh Thomas also added a kickoff-return touchdown when he took an onside kick 43 yards for a score that iced the win for Dallas. 

This was also just the second game in NFL history that featured two kick-return touchdowns AND two missed extra points. The only other time that happened came in 1942. 

Commanders kicker Austin Seibert missed both of his extra point attempts, including a kick that would have tied the game at 27 with 21 seconds left to play. For a closer look at all the special teams craziness that went down in Washington, be sure to check out our full story here. 

Let’s check out 11 more of the wildest stats from Week 12 (via CBS Sports research, unless noted): 

1. Saquon Barkley steamrolls the Rams. In Philadelphia’s 37-20 win over the Rams, the Eagles running back finished with 255 rushing yards, which is the ninth-highest single-game total in NFL history. He also became the first player since Maurice Jones-Drew in 2009 to have TWO touchdown runs of 70 yards or more in the same game. Barkley also had 47 receiving yards, giving him 302 yards from scrimmage on the night, which is tied for the 10th-highest total in NFL history. Barkley also became the first player in NFL history to finish with at least 250 rushing yards, 45 receiving yards and two touchdowns. It’s also worth mentioning that both his rushing total and his yards from scrimmage total were franchise records for the Eagles. You can read more about Saquon’s big night here. 
2. Cowboys pull off biggest upset of the year. With their 34-26 win over Washington, the Cowboys pulled off the biggest upset of the 2024 season so far. The Cowboys were a 10.5-point underdog going into Sunday’s game. The Titans also beat the Texans as an 8-point underdog, which means we saw two of the five biggest point spread upsets go down on Sunday. 
3. Chiefs also hit 10 wins. The Chiefs are now 10-1 after their win over the Panthers, which gives them 10 straight seasons where they’ve hit 10 wins. That’s the third longest streak in NFL history trailing only the 49ers (1983-98) and Patriots (2003-2019). The win also means that Andy Reid has now won at least 10 games in 19 different seasons, which is the third-most in NFL history, behind only Bill Belichick and Don Shula, who both won at least 10 games in 20 different seasons. 
4. Lions also hit 10 wins. With their 10th win, the Lions have now hit double-digit wins in back-to-back seasons for the first time in franchise history. At 10-1, they’re also off to their best 11-game start since 1934. 
5. Sonic and Knuckles make history. Those are the nicknames for David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs, who combined to make history by becoming the first pair of running back teammates in NFL history to each hit 10 rushing touchdowns in consecutive seasons in NFL history.
6. NFC North dominance. With the Packers getting to eight wins on Sunday, the 2024 NFC North becomes the first division since divisional realignment in 2002 to have three teams all win at least eight games in the first 12 weeks of a season. 
7. Kelce keeps climbing up the all-time list. With 62 receiving yards against the Panthers, Travis Kelce now has 11,897 yards for his career, which moves him past Antonio Gates (11,841) for the third-most in NFL history by a tight end. Kelce now only trails Tony Gonzalez (15,127 receiving yards) and Jason Witten (13,046).  
8. Will the thrill. Titans QB Will Levis got sacked seven times in the first half on Sunday, becoming just the fifth quarterback since 1991 to get sacked at least seven times in a first half. Despite getting beat up, Levis still managed to have a solid game, throwing for 278 yards and two touchdowns in Tennessee’s 32-27 win over Houston.
9. Giants defense keeps coming up empty. The Giants have gone 10 straight games without intercepting a pass, which is tied with the 1976-77 49ers and 2017 Raiders for the longest streak in NFL history. The irony here is that former Giants player (and current Packers safety) Xavier McKinney is tied for the NFL lead with seven interceptions. The Giants let McKinney walk in free agency last March.
10. Malik Nabers on record pace. The Giants weren’t good on Sunday, but Nabers was. The rookie receiver caught six passes for 64 yards and now has 67 receptions on the season. That moves him past Puka Nacua (64 receptions) for the most receptions by a player in his first nine career games in NFL history. 
11. Antonio Winfield joins rare club. The Buccaneers safety picked up a sack in Tampa Bay’s 30-7 win over the Giants and now has two on the season. That’s a big deal because it makes him just the third defensive back with at least two sacks in each of his first five seasons since sacks became an official stat in 1982. Winfield joins Adam Archuleta and Keith Bostic as the only players to pull off that feat. 

If you see any other fun facts, feel free to tweet them at me.