The Dallas Cowboys have lost two straight games and no longer control their own destiny in the NFC East. Dallas blew a fourth quarter lead against the New York Giants and look like they are continuing their December struggles. To make matters worse, Dallas continues to get some bad news on the injury front. After Miles Austin returned against the Giants, the Cowboys had to feel like they had their key offensive players in place. However, running back DeMarco Murray is now heading to the injured reserve list. Murray suffered an ankle injury against the Giants and his season was lost. With Murray out, Dallas has serious issues at the running back position.
Murray's ankle injury was serious enough for Dallas to know that his season was over. It will take him a couple of months to heal completely but he should be good to go in 2012. Since there was no chance he would be able to return this season, Dallas had to make this move. Murray wasn't going to do any good for them sitting on the sidelines. The running back will have to focus on rehab and get back into shape as fast as possible.
The problem for Dallas is that Murray was a key part of their offense. He emerged midway through the season as the top running back for the Cowboys. He is averaging 5.5 yards per carry on the season and has 897 yards rushing. Murray has gotten more than 20 carries five times this season. It is clear that he was the main weapon out of the backfield for Dallas. Now the Cowboys will look to Felix Jones. The dynamic Jones has battled injuries of his own and has just 90 carries this season. He has not had more than 17 in any one game.
Since Dallas has only one active running back, the team signed journeyman Sammy Morris to fill the roster spot. Morris has not played in the 2011 season and it isn't known how much he has in the tank. However, he should be able to help the team on third downs. The problem for Dallas is whether or not Jones can be the featured back. He will need to shoulder the same load that Murray did and he isn't really built for that. The Murray injury has really thinned out the Dallas backfield. That could doom their playoff hopes.
Note: This article was written by a Yahoo! contributor. Sign up here to start publishing your own sports content.
NFL: Patriots coach wrong to yell at Brady
NFL: Is Norv Turner in trouble?
NFL: Chiefs move on without Haley
Signing in ensures ratings are counted accurately and prevents system abuse.
Sign in to rate or, sign up for a new account.
