DeMarco Murray sets RB record

— -- ARLINGTON, Texas -- Dallas Cowboys running back DeMarco Murray has given a stiff-arm to history when people have brought up his name with Hall of Famers such as Jim Brown and Emmitt Smith during his magical start to the season.

In Sunday's 31-21 win over the New York Giants, Murray became the first back in NFL history to rush for at least 100 yards in each of the first seven games of a season, finishing with 128 yards on 28 carries and a fourth-quarter touchdown.

"I think we did this as a group," Murray said, sprinkling around praise for his offensive line. "So it's hard for me to accept this individually, and I definitely wish those guys were here. But they're a huge part of this, [along with] the tight ends, the receivers, the entire coaching staff. But I definitely give a lot of credit to those guys, and I'm blessed to be mentioned with that, but there's a lot of hard work that needs to be done. It's a long season."

Murray is on pace for 2,086 yards, just behind the pace Eric Dickerson had in 1984 when he ran for 2,105 yards for the St. Louis Rams. At his current pace, Murray would finish with the third-most yards in a season. Adrian Peterson ran for 2,097 yards in 2012.

"DeMarco's just doing a fantastic job for us," coach Jason Garrett said. "He's seeing softness in the defense. He's feeling things. He's getting north and south. He's finishing runs. Sometimes when it's 2, 1, 2, 1, 3 [yards], a back can get frustrated, but he's still believing in the runs and making sure he's giving every one of them a chance. As the game goes on, you see him having more and more success."

Murray went over the 100-yard mark on the first play of the fourth quarter with a 1-yard run. He dipped back to 101 yards after a minus-2-yard run in the fourth quarter, but he closed the drive with a 1-yard touchdown run to make it 28-14.

On the Cowboys' final drive that ended in a Dan Bailey field goal after the Giants cut the lead to 28-21, Murray carried seven times for 26 yards.

Murray leads the NFL in rushing and is looking to become the first Cowboy to lead the league in rushing since Smith, who had 1,773 yards in 1995. Smith had 812 yards through the first seven games of that season.

This is the 14th 100-yard game of Murray's career.

He opened the year with 118 yards on 22 carries against the San Francisco 49ers and has followed up with 167 yards at the Tennessee Titans, 100 yards at the Rams, 149 yards against the New Orleans Saints, 138 yards against the Houston Texans and 115 yards against the Seattle Seahawks.

"It's special just to be a part of it," quarterback Tony Romo said. "It is something you don't always get to do. It really could not happen to a better guy. I love that kid. He will always be like a brother to me when we are done. ... He really just exemplifies everything you could want in a player. If I was a coach, if I was a teammate, which I am, I think he is everything I would want in somebody that had a chance to go about it and have that record. He is hardworking. He is humble, and he is a team-first guy as much as anybody."