Cowboys’ DeMarco Murray has surgery to repair broken bone in left hand

So much for DeMarco Murray’s pursuit of 2,000 yards. The Dallas Cowboys, though, are more concerned with making sure the running back’s short-term absence doesn’t derail their playoff hopes.

Murray fractured his left hand late in Sunday’s 38-27 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles. He underwent surgery Monday to repair the fourth metacarpal.

A source called Murray questionable for Sunday’s game against the Indianapolis Colts. The Cowboys, though, are not ready to rule him out.

“The biggest question we have to ask ourselves is, is he functional to do his job?” Cowboys coach Jason Garrett said. “Can he hold the football? Can he carry it under duress? Can he block? Can he do the things necessary to play the position?

“He’s as strong-willed and determined an individual as I’ve ever been around. If anybody has a chance to come back, he does. Let’s take first things first and see how the surgery goes, and we’ll make our best decisions from there.”

The Cowboys (10-4) have sole possession of first place in the NFC East, but they have to win their final two games to guarantee a playoff berth.

Murray, a candidate for the league’s offensive player of the year, has carried the load for Dallas this season. His 405 touches represent 45.4 percent of the team’s 892 plays. His 2,082 yards from scrimmage is 39.4 percent of the team’s 5,288 total yards.

Murray remains comfortably in the lead for the rushing title, with his 1,687 yards putting him 409 ahead of Pittsburgh’s Le’Veon Bell. Emmitt Smith holds the franchise single-season record with 1,773 yards in 1995.

The Cowboys, though, insist they have complete confidence in their backup running backs despite the fact they have used Lance Dunbar and Joseph Randle sparingly.

Murray has played 711 snaps this season, including 57 of 82 plays Sunday, leaving late in the game with his injury. Dunbar has played 118 snaps and Randle 62 this season, with the two combining for 17 snaps against the Eagles.

“We have a lot of confidence in those guys, obviously,” Garrett said. “We like to give them opportunities to spell DeMarco and just to give those guys a shot. I thought [Sunday’s game] was a good example of how those guys have consistently taken advantage of those opportunities.

“Joseph got a couple of carries and was productive with his. I felt Lance did a really nice job in that game, at the end of the game, handling the football and doing some good things. He made some good runs. They weren’t splash runs, but they were really positive runs at critical moments in that ball game.”

The Cowboys likely will call up Ryan Williams from the practice squad if Murray is unable to play, according to a source. Williams, a second-round pick by Arizona in 2011, has 58 career carries for 164 yards.

Murray has never played a full 16-game schedule, though he has played in the Cowboys’ past 22 games. He finished 2011 on injured reserve, missing the final three games with a fractured right ankle, and he sat out six games in 2012 with a foot injury. He missed 2 1/2 games last season with a sprained medial collateral ligament in his left knee.

Smith had the same injury during the 1999 season, breaking the fourth metacarpal in his right hand against the Minnesota Vikings. He missed one game, returning with back-to-back 100-yard performances.

“Every player is different; every injury is different,” Garrett said. “I understand that, but understanding maybe what the parameters are through the history of the injury can sometimes give you a good indication as to how to proceed and really how to think about it.”

In the final year of his rookie contract, Murray is scheduled to become a free agent in the off-season.

This story was originally published December 15, 2014 at 2:43 PM with the headline "Cowboys’ DeMarco Murray has surgery to repair broken bone in left hand."