Cowboys coach Jason Garrett said this week that the Cowboys needed to run more and run better than they had in the first two weeks of the season.
Missions accomplished.
DeMarco Murray carried the ball 26 times for 175 yards and a touchdown and the Cowboys had more runs than passes as they jumped in front of the Rams early and never looked back. The 31-7 win means they’ll be the only 2-1 team in an NFC East that has not turned out to be one of the more imposing divisions in the NFL. If the Cowboys have more days like Sunday, that may mean they win the division by a comfortable margin.
Murray had plenty of room to run and Tony Romo was sacked just once behind an offensive line that was much better than they were against the Chiefs in Week Two. Romo didn’t turn the ball over while throwing three touchdowns and the defense harassed Sam Bradford all afternoon. They sacked him six times and forced a fumble early in the third quarter to quash any thoughts of a comeback from St. Louis.
If that was the best of the Cowboys on display, the Rams should hope it was their worst. Bradford never had time to throw and there was no running game to keep the heat off of him, but it probably wouldn’t have mattered given how easily the Cowboys offense moved through the Rams. For one week, the Cowboys heeded the calls to Murray and it is only going to lead to more of them.