In a 24-17 win over the New York Giants, it was Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo that dished out all the scoring on Wednesday night. That doesn't take away from the performance of second-year running back DeMarco Murray, though, who pounded out 131 yards on 20 carries.
Jonathan Tjarks, SB Nation Dallas's managing editor, wrote on RealGM Football that had it not been for Murray's performance, Romo wouldn't have been nearly as effective:
"When the New York defensive ends went outside of their rush lanes, Dallas gashed them with Murray running off-tackle. It's no coincidence Romo had only his third career game with 300 yards passing, a 75%+ completion percentage and three TD's on Wednesday. With a dynamic rushing game to alleviate some of the offensive burden, he may be on the way to having his best season in the NFL yet."
Now that Murray is a vital part of the Cowboys offense, the question for the season will be whether or not Murray will be able to stay healthy and keep contributing. Injury concerns caused Murray to drop in the draft, and an ankle injury ended his rookie season early in 2012. That question of injury could create a difficult situation for the Cowboys coaching staff, says Tjarks:
"Jason Garrett and the rest of the Cowboys coaching staff will have to find ways to limit his snaps going forward. The problem is that he's such a complete back (power, speed, vision, pass-catching and pass-blocking ability) that it's very hard to justify taking him out of the game. And with such a slim difference between winning and losing in the NFL, having your best running back off the field for even one series can be enormous."
Following the Wednesday night victory, the Cowboys will have a long break before their Week 2 matchup against the Seahawks on Sunday, Sept. 16 in Seattle, WA.
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