DeMarco Murray played last Sunday just six days after having screws and a plate inserted in his hand to repair a broken bone he suffered the week prior in a win over Philadelphia. He carried the ball 22 times despite still having stitches hold his hand closed in what Jason Garrett called one of the most memorable performances he's seen and will likely ever see.
So Murray wasn't about to let a little illness keep him out for this week's regular-season finale with just a few yards separating him from the franchise's all-time single-season rushing mark held by Emmitt Smith.
Murray missed practice on Thursday, but returned and practiced in full on Friday.
“Looked like he was down in the dumps a little bit with a cold or a fever, hopefully it wasn’t the flu,” tight end Jason Witten told ESPN Dallas on Thursday . “But I think he showed last week what kind of toughness he has and what a pro he is. He’ll bounce back. He’ll be here and he’ll be ready to go.”
Witten was right. Murray practiced on Friday and is ready to roll on Sunday, needing just 29 yards to pass Smith's team record of 1,773 yards he set in 1995.
Last time Murray faced the Redskins in Week 8, he rushed for 141 yards on just 19 carries as the Cowboys fell in overtime on the night Tony Romo suffered two fractures in his back. It's pretty easy to imagine he gets that rushing mark pretty quickly on Sunday.
