Cowboys spotlight: History on DeMarco Murray’s side
Season: 5th College: Oklahoma
Height: 6-0 Weight: 217
Strengths: Murray has been productive at every level. His senior year at Las Vegas Gorman High School, Murray rushed for 1,947 yards and 27 touchdowns. He also caught 22 passes for 624 yards and seven touchdowns. Murray set several school records at Oklahoma, rushing for 3,685 yards and 50 touchdowns on 759 carries while catching 157 passes for 1,571 yards and 13 touchdowns. A third-round pick of the Cowboys in 2011, he led the league in rushing last season with a team-record 1,845 yards. It earned him a five-year, $42 million contract with the Eagles in the off-season. Murray has a tremendous work ethic, and he is tough. Last season, he played six days after hand surgery. He has become a three-down player, regarded as one of the top blocking running backs in the game. The more touches he gets, the stronger he becomes.
Weaknesses: Injuries have slowed Murray. He missed 11 games with injuries in his first three seasons with the Cowboys. Murray did play all 16 games last season, but he has missed one game with the Eagles this season because of a hamstring injury. The Cowboys believe Murray left yards on the field last season despite setting the team record. They also worried about how the 497 touches he had last season, including the playoffs, might affect him going forward. Murray can fumble the ball. He lost five last season. In his career, he has 12 fumbles, with eight lost, though he has yet to fumble this season.
Last game: He had 18 carries for 65 yards and no touchdowns in the Eagles’ 27-16 loss to Carolina on Oct. 25.
Who has to stop him? The Cowboys rank 13th against the run. Atlanta’s Devonta Freeman is the only back with 100 yards against the Cowboys this season. He had 141 on 30 carries on Sept. 27. The Eagles gained only 7 yards on 17 rushing attempts against the Cowboys on Sept. 20.
Notable: Murray has averaged only 2.8 yards on first down. He has rushed for only 147 yards on 53 first-down carries. … Murray has had 227 offensive snaps this season, or 45 percent of the team’s plays. … Murray has struggled this season, with 307 yards and three touchdowns on 88 carries. … He had a season-high 112 rushing yards against the New York Giants on Oct. 19.
This story was originally published November 3, 2015 at 8:32 PM with the headline "Cowboys spotlight: History on DeMarco Murray’s side."