Since injuring his ankle against the New England Patriots, Felix Jones hasn't been in the lineup, hasn't practiced this week and at this point is a long shot to return on Sunday against the Seattle Seahawks.
That's given the Cowboys a chance to throw rookie running back DeMarco Murray into the fire and they have to be happy with what they've gotten from him so far.
Jones has 255 yards rushing in five games this season. Murray had 253 yards rushing two weeks ago in a win over the lowly St. Louis Rams in a game Murray did not even start.
In Sunday night's debacle against the Eagles, Murray got off to yet another great start early in the night but finished with 74 yards on only eight carries after the Cowboys were forced to abandon the run early on as the Eagles were already up 21-0 before the Cowboys ran their 10th offensive play of the game.
Murray has shown the explosion that Cowboys fans have waited three years for from Jones.
He runs hard, hits holes fast and explodes out of them like he's been expelled from a slingshot.
Murray followed Adrian Peterson at Oklahoma, and if not for his constant injury trouble with the Sooners, he might well have broken Peterson's rushing records.
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Jones could be back any week now, but when he gets back his role will be drastically different.
And if the Cowboys are smart, they'll lean a little more heavily on the running game than they have in the past with Murray toting the load.
