Cowboys fans celebrate as Rico Dowdle scores TD after two flags in redzone - "Giants defense is awful"

Rico Dowdle was not expected to be in the position he currently finds himself in. When the Dallas Cowboys signed him as an undrafted free agent in 2020, he was thought to be nothing more than a backup to whoever the starter was.First, it was Ezekiel Elliott, then Tony Pollard. But that changed at the start of 2024, when he started two of the first three games. On Thursday against the New York Giants, he got the nod again.Just before the first quarter ended, Dowdle repaid the Cowboys' faith in him by scoring a touchdown off a screen pass by Dak Prescott despite at least two very questionable (and uncalled) flags beforehand:There was much celebration after the moment:More of it can be seen below:&quot;A new hero has emerged&quot;, one proclaimed.&quot;What a play! Dowdle really knows how to make an impact,&quot; another praised.&quot;I’m glad to see him ballin out,&quot; another cheered.Can Rico Dowdle elevate the Cowboys' run game?A 1-2 start with both losses at home was not how the Cowboys wanted to start their 2024 season. But there has been one major factor behind such struggles: a lack of rushing attempts.The team rushed the ball only 62 times during that span, and Rico Dowdle led the pack with 23. But that will not be enough if they want to clinch the first consecutive NFC East titles since the Philadelphia Eagles in 2003 and 2004.Head coach Mike McCarthy emphasized the need for more runs during practice:&quot;This is not ideal. When you're looking at this format, particular statistics, and we've played three games, I don't know what we have, three-quarters of two-minute offense? The No. 1 focal point is our run game needs more attempts; we need to get more attempts and get in and out of concepts, and I think that in itself will help us.”Meanwhile, Athlon Sports' Mike Fisher opines:&quot;Maybe some degree of 'stubbornness' is merited. But the idea that the solution to 'banging our heads against the wall' is 'Let's keep banging!' seems backassward to me. Dallas doesn't need 'more attempts'; that's upside-down; Dallas needs third-down conversions and red-zone success. Period.''As of this writing, Dallas has extended its lead to 14-9 via a CeeDee Lamb TD catch.