NFL

Cowboys hope Murray can become elite back

IRVING, Texas — Because of the Giants, the Cowboys still don’t know what they have in DeMarco Murray.

Is the young running back their next Emmitt Smith, like Murray suddenly showed during an incredible four-game stretch last season?

Or is the former third-round pick from Oklahoma just another flash in the pan at an NFL position that is full of them?

The answer to that pressing question was put in a holding pattern last December, because of a broken ankle Murray suffered early in an eventual 37-34 Giants victory at Cowboys Stadium, but his long wait — and the Cowboys’ — ends tonight under the bright lights on the national stage.

After what appears to be a full recovery from that injury, Murray will be back in the lineup when the Cowboys take on their NFC East rivals in the season opener at MetLife Stadium. But if you’re thinking personal revenge is going to be on Murray’s mind, think again.

“Nah,” he said here this week when asked if he wanted to give the Giants some payback. “I don’t. I approach them just like any other game. Week 1, Giants vs. Cowboys, huge game. Going to be a good atmosphere. But I’ve got no animosity towards them. It happened.”

That is no act from the unassuming Murray, a soft-spoken type who truly prefers to let his legs do the talking for him.

Those legs were practically shouting to the rest of the league from the roof of the Cowboys’ $1.2 billion stadium in the middle of last season, when Murray exploded out of nowhere for a franchise-record 253 yards on just 25 carries in a 34-7 rout at home over the hapless Rams.

But if anyone wondered if that was a fluke, Murray the next week averaged nearly 10 yards a carry on eight rushes against the Eagles, then erupted with consecutive rushing days of 139 and 135 yards in wins over the Seahawks and Bills as more experienced back Felix Jones was relegated to the wayside.

Had the Cowboys stumbled upon a true franchise back? It was starting to look that way until the Redskins, Dolphins and Cardinals — none of them dominant defenses — stifled Murray each of the next three games. He didn’t come close to 100 yards or 4.0 yards per carry in any of those contests and appeared to be a marked man.

Then came the Giants, who only added to the Murray Mystery by ending his season in early December — but not until after he had gotten the locals excited again by rushing for 25 yards on just five carries against Giants defensive coordinator Perry Fewell’s defense before suffering his injury.

The Cowboys strictly limited Murray’s work in the exhibition season, thereby providing few clues about which version they will get, but Tony Romo is convinced it’s going to be the one who made such a huge splash.

“He’s going to have a good year this year,” Romo said. “I just think he’s good. I think he’s continuing to show signs of why everybody has liked him. He’s got a good burst. He sees it well.

“As he continues to get better with all the football knowledge that comes with your first couple years, he’ll become a special player.”