Cowboys' DeMarco Murray Sets NFL Record with 7th 100-Yard Game to Open Season

Dallas Cowboys running back DeMarco Murray continued his remarkable 2014 campaign in Sunday's 31-21 win over the New York Giants, setting a new NFL record by rushing for 100 or more yards in his seventh consecutive game to start a season, per ESPN Stats & Info.

The record was previously held by Jim Brown, who rushed for 100 or more yards in each of the Cleveland Browns' first six games of the 1958 campaign, per Brandon George of The Dallas Morning News.

Murray, who is on pace for what would be an NFL record of 427 carries, made sure not to limp his way to the record for consecutive 100-yard games to open a season. He easily cleared the century mark, finishing with 28 totes for 128 yards and a touchdown in the Cowboys' crucial divisional win.

According to ESPN Stats & Info, Murray joins Emmitt Smith (1993-94) as the only players in Cowboys history to record 900 or more rushing yards over a seven-game span. The former Oklahoma Sooner has 913 yards this year, putting him on pace for 2,087, which would be good for third place on the single-season rushing list.

Though he has the support of an elite offensive line, Murray still faces a tall task to break the single-season records for carries and rushing yards, as he'd need to average 25.6 carries and 132.6 yards over his remaining nine games to break the respective marks of 416 carries (Larry Johnson, 2006) and 2,105 rushing yards (Eric Dickerson, 1984).

Per Pro-Football-Reference.com's play index, Murray is already responsible for one of just 14 100-yard rushing streaks of seven games or longer since 1920. No player has ever compiled two such streaks, and the record of 14 consecutive 100-yard rushing games was set by Barry Sanders during his 2,053-yard season for the Detroit Lions in 1997.

As great as Murray and his offensive line may be, it's hard to imagine that all of these records will fall, especially in a modern NFL, where running backs typically have their workloads monitored closely.

On the other hand, no team has been able to stop the Dallas running game to this point, and owner-general manager Jerry Jones would likely appreciate the fanfare that comes with chasing notable records.