Sooners in the NFL: Week 14

Murray's Big Day Carries Cowboys

In a season full of notable performances, Dallas running back DeMarco Murray had his most prolific day of the year Thursday in the Cowboys' 41-28 victory at Chicago.

Murray ran for a season-best 179 yards and a touchdown on a career-high 32 carries. The rushing total was the second highest of his career, trailing only the 253 yards he had against St. Louis on Oct. 23, 2011. The 179 yards were the fifth most gained by a player this season and ninth most in franchise history.

Murray also caught a career-high nine passes for 49 yards.

On the season, Murray leads the NFL in rushing attempts (320), rushing attempts per game (24.6), rushing yards (1,606), rushing yards per game (123.5), rushing touchdowns (9), first down rushes (74) and runs of 40+ yards (3).

Also in the game, James Hanna started at tight end for the Cowboys and had one tackle on special teams.

For Chicago, Demontre Hurst had two special teams tackles in the loss.

Pro Bowl Voting Underway

Voting for the 2015 Pro Bowl is now underway and fans can vote for their favorite former Sooners. Voting lasts until Jan. 9, 2015.

As of Dec. 10, DeMarco Murray is the leading vote-getter at running back and is fifth in overall voting, while Gerald McCoy is fifth among defensive tackles and Tress Way is third among punters.

Notable Performances

Linebacker Curtis Lofton had a season-high 17 tackles (two off his career high of 19) and forced a fumble, wide receiver Kenny Stills caught three passes for 23 yards and wide receiver Jalen Saunders returned three punts for 68 yards, but it wasn't enough as New Orleans was trounced by Carolina, 41-10 … tight end Jermaine Gresham caught three passes for 23 yards, including a 10-yard touchdown, but Cincinnati lost to Pittsburgh, 42-21 … rookie cornerback Aaron Colvin had a career-high five tackles but Jacksonville lost to Houston, 27-13 … safety Tony Jefferson of Arizona also had five tackles as the Cardinals beat Kansas City, 17-14 … defensive tackle Gerald McCoy had two tackles, including one stop for loss, in Tampa Bay's 34-17 loss to Detroit … running back Damien Williams rushed two times for four yards and caught one pass for seven yards in Miami's 28-13 loss to Baltimore … linebacker Corey Nelson had one tackle on special teams in Denver's 24-17 victory over Buffalo … Davin Joseph started at right guard for St. Louis in a 24-0 shutout win over Washington … in the loss for Washington, Trent Williams (left tackle) and Chris Chester (right guard) started on the offensive line and Tress Way had six punts with an average of 45.8 yards per kick … Lane Johnson started at right tackle for Philadelphia, but the Eagles lost to Seattle, 24-14

This and That

The following players also saw action this week but did not record any stats: offensive lineman Donald Stephenson (Kansas City) … wide receiver Justin Brown (Pittsburgh), wide receiver Ryan Broyles (Detroit), safety Quinton Carter (Denver), cornerback Jamell Fleming (Kansas City), quarterback Landry Jones (Pittsburgh) and defensive tackle Stacy McGee (Oakland) were inactive this week