Romo, Murray Carry Cowboys Past Giants 31-21
ARLINGTON (CBSDFW.COM/AP) — DeMarco Murray broke Jim Brown's 56-year-old mark with his seventh straight 100-yard rushing game to start a season, Tony Romo threw three touchdown passes and the Cowboys beat the New York Giants 31-21 Sunday.
Romo had a fourth scoring pass overturned on replay. Instead, Murray wound up with his seventh rushing touchdown of the season on a 1-yard plunge.
He finished with 128 yards on the ground to pass Brown, who hit the century mark in the first six games of the 1958 season for Cleveland.
The Cowboys (6-1) are off to their best start since winning six of their first seven on the way to a 13-3 finish in 2007, when they were the top seed in the NFC before losing to New York in their first playoff game.
"I think our record is above what we could have expected," admitted Jerry Jones after the game,"but we have it, and it's a credit to a team that is building in their confidence."
Eli Manning had three touchdown passes for the Giants (3-4), who have lost road games to the NFC East's top two teams in consecutive weeks. New York now has two-game skids on either side of a three-game winning streak.
Dallas tight end Gavin Escobar -- the Cowboys 2013 second round selection -- had the first two-touchdown game of his career.
"He's a guy who, when we drafted him, we felt really good about his ability to run routes and catch the football," said Jason Garrett after the game. "He certainly has a role on our team and he's done a good job taking advantage of those opportunities when presented."
Dez Bryant finished with a season-high 151 yards receiving. Romo was 17 of 23 for 279 yards with an interception.
Bryant had a touchdown taken away when he stretched his left arm over the goal line as he was being tackled by Prince Amukamara. The call was overturned on review, and Murray scored on the next play for a 28-14 fourth-quarter lead.
Murray didn't return in the first half after falling down in the open field on his longest run before halftime, a 21-yard sprint around right end. He spent a few minutes with trainers on the sideline but didn't leave the field.
Murray Sets NFL Record With 100-Yard Rushing Performance
The fourth-year back from Oklahoma returned in the second half and broke Brown's record on a 1-yard plunge early in the fourth quarter after a 15-yard carry put him on the verge of setting the mark.
After the Giants pulled within seven on Odell Beckham Jr.'s second touchdown catch, Murray had seven carries on a time-killing drive to Dan Bailey's 49-yard field goal for a two-score lead with 1:05 to go.
New York tight end Larry Donnell had team highs of seven catches for 90 yards but fumbled twice. The first one set up a Cowboys touchdown for a 14-point lead in the fourth quarter and the second clinched the Dallas victory in the final minute.
Beckham was starting in Victor Cruz's place in the Giants' first game since their star receiver was taken off the field in tears when he tore the patellar tendon in his right knee in last week's 27-0 loss at Philadelphia.
The first score for Beckham was a 9-yard catch for a 7-all tie in the second quarter. The Giants went ahead less than 4 minutes later on Manning's 27-yard pass to Daniel Fells on the first play after Bryant fell on a deep route, giving Amukamara an easy interception that he returned 38 yards.
Manning was 21 of 33 for 248 yards.
(©2014 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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