Andrew Weber-USA TODAY Sports
Its 2013, two years after DeMarco Murray jumped onto the NFL scene when he slashed through the St. Louis Rams for 253 yards on 25 carries and a touchdown. This masterful performance from Murray set a Dallas Cowboys all-time record for rushing yards in a game. This feat came in his rookie season, which would in turn make him the starting tailback for the Cowboys.
Clearly, Dallas saw something in him when they drafted him in the third round out of Oklahoma. With an all-time record under his belt as a rookie, Murray would now have to construct a career around this one game. But since his outburst in that game against the Rams, Murray has yet to really produce the way the Cowboys organization and fans alike had hoped.
Going for 131 yards in the season opener against the New York Giants in 2012, Murray has yet to hit the century mark since, something that has to absolutely change for Murray to be successful in the NFL. He has the potential to be a superstar in the league. He has career-long run of 91 yards and several 100-yard games in short time in the NFL, though he has yet to really put it all together in one season.
It is now 2013 and his third season in the league. This is the key year for him to really shine and show that the investment Jerry Jones has placed in him is worth it. Because Jones is not shy about letting guys go who he is not getting his return on investment. To him, this is a business and in the business of the NFL, winning is what matters. To win games, you need a guy who can run the ball for positive yards on the regular.
With the sixth-ranked rush defense coming into “Jerry World,” yards may be hard to come by for Murray. But you have to think he will be looking to have another solid outing against the team that helped put him on the map in the NFL. It will be in the back of his mind that he obliterated this team last time he had the rock in his hands. Though the Rams have a highly-ranked rush defense early in the 2013-14 season, I look for the Cowboys to hand the ball off plenty to Murray and for him to eclipse the 100-yard mark. With a better offensive line, Murray should see plenty of daylight ahead of him for solid runs.
This is a game Dallas should win, a game in which I see fantasy owners to receive plenty of points with their offensive players. Murray should be chomping-at-the-bit for this game to start. Salivating thinking about how he made the Rams defense look like a prep team. Murray is primed to go off this week and prove he is the real deal, and another game against St. Louis will prove that come Sunday.
Peter Alexander Diaz is a Dallas Cowboys writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @lumfisheffect, “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google.
