Fansided

Dallas Cowboys RB DeMarco Murray named Offensive Player of the Year

By Phil Watson

Dec 28, 2014; Landover, MD, USA; Dallas Cowboys running back DeMarco Murray (29) celebrates after scoring a touchdown against the Washington Redskins during the first half at FedEx Field. Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 28, 2014; Landover, MD, USA; Dallas Cowboys running back DeMarco Murray (29) celebrates after scoring a touchdown against the Washington Redskins during the first half at FedEx Field. Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit

After breaking the franchise single-season rushing record and sparking the Dallas Cowboys to a playoff berth, DeMarco Murray was named Offensive Player of the Year.

DeMarco Murray of the Dallas Cowboys will be named the Offensive Player of the Year in voting conducted by The Associated Press.

Murray set a Dallas franchise record with 1,845 rushing yards this season and scored 13 touchdowns on the ground.

More from Dallas Cowboys

But he was a multi-faceted threat, adding 57 receptions for 416 yards. He led the NFL in both rushing yards and yards from scrimmage (2,261).

Murray didn’t miss a game this season, despite having surgery on a broken left hand late in the year, and was named an All-Pro for the first time as well as being selected for his second Pro Bowl.

He is the first Cowboy to win the Offensive Player of the Year award since it was introduced after the 1972 season.

Murray broke a 19-year-old franchise record for rushing yards in a season, a mark that had been set by Hall of Famer Emmitt Smith in 1995 with 1,773 yards.

For Murray, it was his second straight 1,000-yard season as he became the workhorse back for the Cowboys, leading the NFL with 392 carries, the most for an NFL running back since Larry Johnson toted the ball 416 times for the Kansas City Chiefs in 2006.

Murray also helped the Cowboys return to the postseason for the first time since 2009 as Dallas went 12-4 and won the NFC East title, beating the Detroit Lions in a Wild Card Playoff game before losing to the Green Bay Packers in the Divisional Playoff round.

Murray was a third-round pick by Dallas out of Oklahoma in 2011 and has rushed for 4,526 yards and 28 touchdowns in his career.

He had 12 games with 100 yards or more rushing this season and added another in the playoffs, rushing for 123 yards and a touchdown against the Packers.

He opened the season with eight straight 100-yard performances, the longest streak in the NFL since Adrian Peterson of the Minnesota Vikings rushed for 100 yards in eight straight games in 2012.

It’s just the 10th streak of such games by a running back since 1960.

The other nine include Barry Sanders of the Lions (14 in 1997), Chris Johnson of the Tennessee Titans (9, 2009-10), Marcus Allen of the Los Angeles Raiders (11 in 1985-86), LaDainian Tomlinson of the San Diego Chargers (9, 2006), Johnson of Kansas City (9, 2005-06), Deuce McAllister of the New Orleans Saints (9, 2003), Fred Taylor of the Jacksonville Jaguars (9, 2000), Walter Payton of the Chicago Bears (9, 1985) and Peterson in 2012.

More from FanSided

Home/Dallas Cowboys