ARLINGTON, Texas -- Dallas Cowboys running back DeMarco Murray understands the kind of exclusive company he has joined.
He just doesn’t seem to care that much.
With 136 yards on 31 carries in Sunday’s 20-17 overtime win against the Houston Texans, Murray became one of three backs in NFL history to rush for at least 100 yards in the first five games of a season. The others are a pair of Hall of Famers: Jim Brown (1958) and O.J. Simpson (1973, 1975).
“Those are pioneers at the running back position,” Murray said with not even a hint of excitement in his voice. “They did a lot of great things for the position and the NFL. A lot of respect for those guys.
“I’m just trying to come out here and play and get wins.”
Murray, who prefers to praise his blockers, has consistently maintained that he isn’t that interested in his individual statistics. He has promised that he won’t get caught up in chasing the NFL rushing title or any records.
Nevertheless, Murray’s numbers so far this season aren’t just noteworthy. They are historic.
A sampling of Murray’s most impressive stats:
Murray’s 670 rushing yards are the most through five games in franchise history. He bumped Emmitt Smith (1995, 638 yards), Tony Dorsett (1981, 592 yards) and Herschel Walker (1988, 526 yards) down the list.
Murray has the fifth-most rushing yards through five games in NFL history. The only backs with more yardage in that time frame in NFL history are Simpson (823 yards in 1975, 813 yards in 1973), Brown (787 in 1963) and Jamal Lewis (742 yards in 2003).
Murray is the first back in franchise history to have five consecutive 100-yard rushing games.
Murray is on pace to rush for 2,144 yards. The NFL single-season record is 2,105 by Eric Dickerson in 1984. The franchise record is Smith’s 1,773 yards in 1995.
Murray is on pace to get 416 carries. That would match Larry Johnson’s league record set in 2005.
