It is Day 74 of our 100-day countdown to kickoff. We are looking back at the 100 most iconic games in Dallas Cowboys history. The countdown will leads us right up to the opening game of 2026. Our look back doesn’t depend on just one criteria for our rankings. We take into consideration things like how big the game was for the organization, how memorable the game was, games that had unusual events take place, games that are a part of NFL lore, Cowboys firsts, and games where the Cowboys just plain dominated. Variety is the spice of life and we have all different kind of Cowboys games to review. At the bottom, we’ll link each day of the countdown so you can go back and check out any you missed.
So let’s get into Day 74 of our 100-day countdown to kickoff, where we revisit the day DeMarco Murray announced himself to the NFL. The Cowboys entered this Week 7 matchup at 2-3, coming off a painful late loss to the Patriots and still searching for offensive identity. The Rams arrived winless, injured, and vulnerable against the run. Dallas needed a convincing win, but what it got was something much more memorable.
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Sunday, October 23, 2011 — 4:15 p.m. ET
Cowboys Stadium, Arlington, Texas
Final Score: Dallas Cowboys 34, St. Louis Rams 7
Demarco Murray did not even start the game, but he changed it on his first carry. Backed up near their own goal line, the Cowboys handed the ball to the rookie from Oklahoma, and he exploded through a massive hole for a 91-yard touchdown. It was the first touchdown of his NFL career, the second-longest run in Cowboys history behind only Tony Dorsett’s 99-yarder, and the start of a record-breaking afternoon.
Dallas built the entire game from there. Tony Romo found Jason Witten for a one-yard touchdown early in the second quarter to make it 14-0. St. Louis answered with its only real offensive punch of the day, an 80-yard drive capped by Steven Jackson’s six-yard touchdown run, but the Cowboys added a Dan Bailey field goal before halftime and went into the locker room up 17-7.
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The second half belonged entirely to Dallas. Bailey drilled a 51-yard field goal in the third quarter, then the Cowboys put the game away in the fourth. Phillip Tanner scored from six yards out, and Romo later hit Dez Bryant for a 20-yard touchdown to finish the scoring. Dallas won 34-7, ended its two-game losing streak, and finally had a game that did not come down to the final possession.
But the game is remembered for Murray, and rightly so. He finished with 25 carries for 253 yards and a touchdown, breaking Emmitt Smith’s Cowboys single-game rushing record of 237 yards, set against the Eagles in 1993. Murray also broke the franchise’s single-game rookie rushing record, while the team piled up 445 total yards overall.
The performance changed the feel of Murray’s rookie season. Felix Jones was injured, Tashard Choice technically started, and Murray entered the day still largely unproven. By the end of it, there was no mystery about who had earned more work. He gave Dallas explosive runs, finishing power, and a glimpse of the back who would later become the NFL’s Offensive Player of the Year in 2014.
This game belongs on the countdown because franchise records matter, and this one came in spectacular fashion. It was not just a big rushing day. It was a 91-yard touchdown on his first carry, 253 yards on 25 attempts, a broken Emmitt Smith record, and the birth of a new Cowboys offensive centerpiece.
Interesting Facts About the Game
Murray’s 253 rushing yards remain the Cowboys’ single-game rushing record. He broke Emmitt Smith’s previous mark of 237 yards, which had stood for 18 years.
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Countdown To Kickoff by day:
100, 99, 98, 97, 96, 95, 94, 93, 92, 91, 90, 89, 88, 87, 86, 85, 84, 83, 82, 81, 80, 79, 78, 77, 76, 75
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