ARLINGTON, Texas — The only drama at the end of this one was whether rookie DeMarco Murray would set the Dallas Cowboys’ franchise single-game rushing record, a remarkable feat considering it’s gone from Hall of Famer Tony Dorsett to NFL rushing king Emmitt Smith.
Murray indeed pulled it off, running through the winless St. Louis Rams’ defense for 253 yards, including an early 91-yard touchdown that got the Cowboys started toward a 34-7 victory on Sunday.
Murray ran for the most yards in the NFL this season and the ninth-most in league history.
His touchdown was the second-longest by a Cowboys player, topped only by the NFL-record 99-yarder by Dorsett in January 1983.
“I never thought in a million years that I’d ever have a day like this,” Murray said. “This is what I’ve been working hard for since my Pop Warner days.”
Murray’s performance was impressive, but it came against the Rams, who fell to 0-6 and came in with the NFL’s worst defense against the run. They had allowed 163 yards per game, more than two first downs more anyone else.
The holes were so plentiful that when Murray took himself out to catch his breath in the fourth quarter, fourthstringer Phillip Tanner finished that drive with 35 yards on the first four carries of his career, capping it with a 6-yard touchdown run. St. Louis wasn’t even able to exploit a line featuring a starting left guard who was unemployed as of Monday.
“It’s easy to run the ball when you’re not making tackles,” Rams safety Quintin Mikell. “When you’re not getting guys on the ground, there’s not much you can do.”
For Dallas (3-3), the real satisfaction was ending a twogame losing skid and emphatically breaking a stretch of 11 consecutive games decided by four points or less.
“It was the first one where we could take a knee to win,” receiver Miles Austin said. “It’s a good feeling.”
The Cowboys never trailed and left no reason for team owner Jerry Jones to criticize coach Jason Garrett’s playcalling — except maybe to wonder why Murray, who didn’t start against the Rams, didn’t have a bigger role in the offense until this game.
With lead back Felix Jones (Arkansas Razorbacks) out with a high ankle sprain, Tashard Choice trotted out first. The plan was for him to share the load with Murray, a third-round pick whose development was slowed because he missed most of training camp with a hamstring injury.
It took all of one carry for Murray to become the main option.
On a first-and-19 from the Dallas 9, Murray went through a giant hole on the left side, cut through an attempted ankle tackle, then outran Mikell.
Murray, who entered the game with 71 rushing yards, had 187 yards through three quarters, and the Cowboys were up 20-7. Because they wanted to run to protect the lead, it was clear that Murray would get a shot at Smith’s club record of 237 yards set Oct. 31, 1993, at Philadelphia.
Murray followed with a 43-yard run that could’ve gone for a 73-yard touchdown had he not run out of gas along the way. He finished it 2 yards shy of Smith’s mark.
“I just wanted to get down and protect the ball,” he said.
The record fell on his next try, an 8-yard run. He finished with 25 carries and an average of 10.1 yards. Dallas, which entered the game averaging 84.8 rushing yards, ran for 294 yards overal.
The Rams not only entered the game with the NFL’s worst rushing defense, but they were without quarterback Sam Bradford (high ankle sprain) and were averaging the fewest points in the league even with him.
A.J. Feeley made his first start since 2007 and was 20 of 33 for 196 yards with 1 interception and 1 sack. But the offense gained only 4 yards in the third quarter, and had only two good drives. The first edrive nded in a 6-yard touchdown run by Steven Jackson that got St. Louis within 14-7. The other ended with a fourth-and-goal from the 1 that was stuffed in the final minutes.
“We couldn’t get any rhythm and left the defense on the field entirely too long,” Jackson said. “For whatever reason, this keeps being the same old story.”
Jackson finished with 70 yards, 46 coming on the touchdown drive.
Brandon Lloyd caught six passes for 74 yards in his St. Louis debut. He was acquired from Denver earlier this week.
St. Louis also saw right tackle Jason Smith and backup defensive tackle Darell Scott carted off. Both were taken to a hospital for evaluation and were expected to fly home with the team. Smith, a Dallas native, had a strained neck; Scott’s injury was called a blow to the head.
Dallas’ Tony Romo was 14 of 24 for 166 yards, with 2 touchdowns. Because of Murray, Romo did have to throw much, but he hit Dez Bryant for four passes and a touchdown in the second half. Romo’s other touchdown throw went to Jason Witten.
Sports, Pages 15 on 10/24/2011