There have been many calls in recent years for the Cowboys to make more of a commitment to the running game, but they have gone largely unheeded until this year.
The Cowboys ran the ball early and often with DeMarco Murray over the first month of the season. It has paid off for the team, which has gone 3-1 to confound some predictions of doom, and it has paid off for Murray.
Murray has run for 534 yards on 99 carries, which leaves him more than 100 yards ahead of the next best rusher in the first four weeks of the season. Murray added 68 receiving yards and scored five touchdowns, all of which was enough to make him the NFC offensive player of the month for September.
With his contract expiring after the season, Murray has found the right time to kick his game up to another level. If he can avoid the injury issues that have cost him time in each of the last two seasons, he could run away with the rushing title on his way to free agency.