'Made for This': Ryan Flournoy's 46-Yard Catch With George Pickens Out Set Up the Cowboys' Winning Score
Down 23-20 with 1:37 left, Dallas went first-snap to its fill-in receiver - and Flournoy beat Ahmad Gardner for 46 yards. Two catches, 53 yards, and the play the comeback ran through.
INDIANAPOLIS - The Cowboys' season-turning drive started with the receiver who was not supposed to be starting. Down 23-20 with 1:37 left Sunday, Dallas went to Ryan Flournoy on the first snap of its final possession, and Flournoy beat Colts cornerback Ahmad Gardner down the right side for 46 yards to the Indianapolis 19. Three plays later Javonte Williams scored from a yard out, and Dallas left Lucas Oil Stadium with a 27-23 win.
Flournoy started because George Pickens was inactive with a hamstring injury - the first game Pickens has missed since Dallas traded for him in May 2025. Flournoy finished with just two catches for 53 yards, but both bent the game: the 46-yarder, and a pass-interference draw on a throw his way at the Indianapolis 6 that put the ball at the 1. 'Before every single drive, I step up, I pray to God, and in that particular prayer, after I was finished, I said I'm made for this,' Flournoy said afterward. 'I just knew I was made for that moment to catch it.'
His coaches and quarterback backed the read. Dak Prescott said the throw developed off the coverage and that he has 'the utmost confidence in Flo,' and head coach Brian Schottenheimer said the staff liked the matchup because Indianapolis's corners play underneath, giving Dallas chances to take shots downfield. Flournoy, a 2024 sixth-round pick, is up to 32 catches for 395 yards this season. The next test comes quickly: Dallas hosts San Francisco on Sunday, November 15 at AT&T Stadium, a 3:25 p.m. CT kickoff on FOX - with Pickens's hamstring the week's first question.
