Anybody watching Week 2’s NFC East showdown between the Philadelphia Eagles and Dallas Cowboys could tell you DeMarco Murray struggled. However, not only did he have a bad game, according to Elias Sports Bureau, Inc. it was a “historically ineffective” performance.
Murray gained just two yards on the ground on 13 attempts, gaining 0.2 yards per carry.
Per Elias, via ESPN.com, his two yards was the lowest total of any returning leading NFL rusher since 1964, when Clem Daniels went for minus-one yard for the Oakland Raiders against the Boston Patriots.
Also, he’s just the fourth back in the last 30 years to rush for less than 10 yards on at least five carries, and here’s the icing on this crappy cake:
“Over the last 37 seasons, only one other player finished a game with at least as many carries and as few rushing yards as Murray. Jonathan Wells of the Texans carried 13 times for 1 yard on Dec. 29, 2002 against the Titans.”
Even worse for Murray is the fact that this wasn’t the first horrible performance by him. He rushed for just nine yards on eight carries in the team’s season opener against the Atlanta Falcons, meaning he only has 11 rushing yards on 21 carries for an average of 0.5 yards per carry thus far in 2015.
Adding insult to injury, Murray’s “historically ineffective” performance on Sunday came against the team that discarded him just one year after he led the league in rushing. The Cowboys have maintained all along, ever since allowing him to leave via free agency, that they’d get along just fine without him. Philadelphia decided to poach an asset from its divisional rival, but so far the $40 million investment hasn’t paid off.
The one consolation Murray has is that he’s at least been an effective receiver out of the backfield, catching nine passes for 64 yards and one touchdown this year. That said, Philly didn’t sign him to be a receiver. The Eagles thought they’d be getting a can’t miss power running back, but so far that hasn’t materialized.