In the Dallas Cowboys' opening game against the San Francisco 49ers, Tony Romo threw three interceptions and the team was beaten 28-17 as a result. In order to avoid a repeat performance against the Tennessee Titans, the Cowboys took the ball out of the quarterback's hands and put up in the arms of DeMarco Murray who carried the offense in Week 2. Romo admits he was thrilled to let the running back do the heavy lifting in Week 2.
The Cowboys could simply not afford another week of three interceptions and three sacks from Romo. So instead, they put all of the responsibility on Murray. The running back put up 118 yards in Week 1 and followed that up with 167 yards and a touchdown against the Titans. After putting up 1,106 yards last season, Murray is well on his way to a repeat performance this season and Romo is thrilled about some of the pressure being taken off of his shoulders.
"There will be games where I've got to play at a high level for us to win and there will be games where we'll have the opportunity to do what we did and run the ball and do things," Romo said, via the team's website. "You've got a back like DeMarco Murray and a line that can pound in the running game, it gives you a chance. The biggest thing for us to move the chains. You extend drives and give yourself a chance to make the big plays. We did that really today."
Romo has certainly proved that he cannot be trusted to take over games when things get tight, but Murray has turned a corner over the past two years and his improvement is not being overlooked. His success has allowed the Cowboys to finally have the balanced offense they have been trying to gear themselves towards. However, fantasy owners take note, the rise of Murray does not mean the fall of Dez Bryant.
Even with the high amount of rushing yards from Murray, Bryant still got his attention from the quarterback. The wide receiver put up 103 yards and a touchdown off of 10 catches. Giving Murray the ball more means softening the defense, allowing Bryant to be open more times than not. Romo did a better job of taking advantage of the wide receiver.
"I thought Tony did a nice job for us," head coach Jason Garrett said. "We blended the run and pass really well. We want to be able to play downhill football and move the chains, control the line of scrimmage. I think we were able to do that and the entire offense did a nice job."
