Demarco Murray

Rookie DeMarco Murray rushed for a franchise-record 253 yards and one touchdown to lead the Dallas Cowboys over the winless St. Louis Rams 34-7 Sunday afternoon in front of 80,086 at Cowboys Stadium.

Murray, who was playing with Felix Jones sidelined by an ankle injury, make new record record of 237 yards set by Emmitt Smith on October 31, 1993 at Philadelphia.

"When you run well into the 200s, that’s hard to do in the NFL," Cowboys coach Jason Garrett said. "DeMarco had a great day.

"It was certainly reminiscent of some of those Emmitt games."

The Cowboys beginning was to good when Murray ran 91 yards for a touchdown. Although Tashard Choice started the game, it closed was Murray who carrying the load. On the third play of the game after a pair of penalties, Murray broke free for the touchdown and a 7-0 Cowboys win.

Dallas pushed its lead to 14-0 when Tony Romo threw a 1-yard touchdown to a wide-open tight end Jason Witten.

The struggling St. Louis offense finally got in rhythm. The Rams drove 85 yards in eight plays for a touchdown. The big play on the drive was a 40-yard run by Stephen Jackson, who also scored the touchdown on a 6-yard off-tackle run to make it 14-7 at the 7:58 mark.

Dallas countered with the help of a Mike Jenkins interception at the Rams’ 30.

However, the Cowboys stalled after having a first-and-goal at the 9 and had to settle for Dan Bailey’s 30-yard field goal at a 17-7 halftime lead.

A slow-paced third quarter yielded a 51-yard field goal by Dan Bailey that helped the Cowboys lead to 20-7.

In the fourth quarter, Dallas turned the game over to its run game.

Murray continued to gash the lifeless Rams along with third-team back Phillip Tanner, Tanner scored on a 6-yard run.

Tanner’s touchdown was set up by a 43-yard run by Murray, who looked to fall down at the end of the run as two Rams closed in.

"I was a little gassed. I just wanted to protect the ball," Murray said.

His record run came on a 8-yard gain on the next series.

"It’s unbelievable. It’s a humbling experience," Murray said. "It’s a big win. From the tight closed to the fullback and the offensive line," I wasn’t getting touched until the secondary. They definitely deserve the record as well."