DeMarco Murray

The Dallas Cowboys promised they would continue to rely on the running game with Joseph Randle and Darren McFadden even without DeMarco Murray as their top tailback.

In Sunday’s 27-26 win against the New York Giants, Tony Romo threw 45 passes, his most in a game since 2013. Last year the most he threw in a game was 41 times in an overtime win against the Houston Texans.

But game situations dictated what looks like a larger-than-expected reliance on the passing game.

The Cowboys closed the first half in a two-minute situation and closed the game with 12 passes on their final two drives to overcome a 10-point deficit with 8:01 to play.

“I thought when we ran the ball it was efficient,” offensive coordinator Scott Linehan said. “We’d like to pop a few long runs, but I didn’t think that our running game was a concern at all. There were some things that were there. It was just a weird game.”

The Cowboys running was one of the bigger fantasy questions coming into the season and, as expected, Randle looks like he's going to lead the way in terms of carries. Randle carried 16 times for 65 yards. Darren McFadden had six carries for 16 yards. The Cowboys’ 80 yards on 23 carries on Sunday would have been a season low in 2014. Their lowest total last season was 92 yards on 25 carries in a loss to the Arizona Cardinals.