In the wake of the Cowboys‘ 44-30 loss on Thursday night in Detroit against the Lions, there isn’t much to be overjoyed about for backers of the team. In fact, there were plenty of targets for anger. The referees, for example, for their wayward pass-interference call(s). The offensive line for getting bowed by the Lions’ front. George Pickens for his subpar effort. The defense for its ineptitude, and where was Logan Wilson, and … and …
But you would not have to look very hard to find a bright spot in that game. That was Cowboys second-year receiver Ryan Flournoy who, for the second time this season, proved he deserves his spot in the Cowboys’ receiver hierarchy with another 100-yard game.
The first came against the lowly Jets in Week 5, with star CeeDee Lamb out. The second came again with Lamb out (half the game, with a concussion) and with Pickens underwhelming. In the face of that reality, Dak Prescott turned to Flournoy, who racked up nine catches on 13 targets for 115 yards and a touchdown.
Said Flournoy, a sixth-round pick from Southeast Missouri State, after the game: “I always knew I would be an NFL wide receiver. It was just showing the world, you know?”
Ryan Flournoy Set as Cowboys WR3
Putting the playoffs and all the issues that surfaced against the Lions aside, if one of the benefits of this season for the Cowboys is that they’ve found their WR2 in Pickens, then another is that they’ve found their WR3 as well: It’s Flournoy.
This is a good thing. It was not long ago that Brandin Cooks was the WR2 and the hope was that the likes of Jalen Tolbert or Jalen Brooks could muscle into the depth chart. Forget all that. A duo of Lamb and Pickens with Flournoy at No. 3 could and should be the future.
As brilliant as Flournoy was on Thursday, he shrugged off the notion that he did anything different or interesting on the evening.
“Just the opportunity came,” Flournoy said. “CeeDee going down, we still want to win. We’re coming out, wanting to win, wanting to win the Super Bowl. So, it’s just me wanting to win. Nothing I did, just me going out there, playing hard, physical.”
‘I Did All That to Win’
That’s a nice side benefit of this Flournoy breakout for the Cowboys: He’s extremely easy to root for. It’s natural, of course, to pull for the overlooked sixth-round pick out of an FCS school, but Flournoy carries himself with a natural humility. He started his career at Central Missouri, transferred to a community college (Iowa Western), then landed with the Redhawks. He never had a 1,000-yard season there, but was team captain and a first-team All-OVC player.
Flournoy did not look at his big numbers on Thursday as a good thing, or even as bittersweet. They came in a loss. It was all bitter, from his perspective.
“It’s not sweet, it’s bitter. I did all that to win,” Flournoy said. “None of them stats really impressed me. I just want to go out there, play with these guys, have fun and just win. Next week, we’re coming out fast and physical—we’re attacking. So, I am excited for next week.”
Cowboys Should Hear Ryan Flournoy Message
He’s not a Cowboys Pro Bowl star like Prescott, so Flournoy’s message to his team is probably not as loudly heard. But his rags-to-riches backstory comes with a truth that this team can still cling to, even as the playoff dream fades.
“Stay together,” he said. “There’s still a lot of football left. We’re a great team. We just gotta beat good teams at their house. We still got a lot to fight for. We can overcome a lot. Everything is possible in my eyes. Coming from a D-II, not having many offers out of high school, people wrote me off. I wouldn’t tell the world to write us off yet.”
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