DeMarco Murray has played the last three games with an injured hand that required surgery. His production in those games has been down.
In the last three contests, the running back has averaged 20.3 attempts, 77.7 yards per game and 3.8 yards per rush. The final stat is the most telling, as it's a full yard lower than he averaged in Weeks 1-15.
As mentioned on the Around The NFL Podcast, Murray hasn't looked as explosive down the stretch and isn't breaking tackles with the ease he did early in the season. In the last six games, Murray has just two 100-yard games and nine carries of 10 or more yards. In the first 11, he had 10 100-yard contests and 38 carries of 10-plus yards.
However, coach Jason Garrett doesn't see a running back who is being weighed down by a season's worth of carries.
"I thought he was outstanding in the game the other day (against Detroit) -- a lot of dirty runs against a team that's very good defending the run," Garrett said, per ESPN.com. "I think we've been really balanced over this last stretch. We've made a lot of plays in the passing game, maybe as a result of the commitment teams have made to stop the run.
"We're playing really good offensive football, and he's a big part of it. Our ability and our commitment to run it I think has impacted us really favorably in the passing game and really made us the kind of offense that's hard to stop."
The main thing for the Cowboys is they've won their past five games.
The latest Around The NFL Podcast previews every Divisional Round game and breaks down the Manning-Luck matchup. Find more Around The NFL content on NFL NOW.
