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IRVING, Texas** – It's a safe assumption that DeMarco Murray was frustrated as he exited the field following the Cowboys' first of two fourth quarter interceptions against Green Bay.
If the Cowboys' late-game collapse wasn't indicator enough, the TV footage of Murray yelling as he removed his helmet painted a clear picture.
Despite that, Murray insisted Wednesday he wasn't angry with anyone in particular, or a play call that led to the costly turnover. He said he was simply upset with the predicament the Cowboys found themselves in Sunday afternoon, as they allowed a 23-point lead to slip away to the Packers..
"In that situation, I think the offensive line and myself, we definitely would have liked the opportunity to close the game out for us and give us that opportunity. But I wasn't mad at anyone," Murray said. "I was just mad at the situation – we let them come back, we gave them an opportunity to win the game, and they took advantage of that. But I wasn't mad at anyone or anything like that."
Even if Murray says he wasn't mad, there's been plenty of anger to go around in the four days since the game. While Wednesday was the first time Murray spoke publicly about the loss, Cowboys coach Jason Garrett and others have had to address the curious decision to move away from an efficient ground game during Green Bay's comeback.
"We were effective running the ball -- that's why we look at it in hindsight and say we probably should have run the ball more," said Garrett on Monday.
Murray declined to add any fuel to that conversation, regardless of the various opinions around the Cowboys' decision making process. To his credit, he has maintained a similar mantra after both memorable and forgettable performances this season.
"I just don't listen to it – it really doesn't matter to me," he said. "Like I said before, if they ask me to block, I'm going to block, if they ask me to run, I'm going to run and try to help this team out as much as I can."
That isn't going to stop the speculation – especially with the way Murray has performed in the last month or so. He has racked up 518 yards and five touchdowns in the Cowboys' past five games, with 280 of those coming in the past two games alone.
It was enough to prompt Cowboys legend Emmitt Smith to say earlier this week that he would have been "extremely mad" if placed in Murray's position.
Murray didn't have a comment for his prominent predecessor, preferring to focus on the two remaining games and the hope of a playoff appearance.
"We've got an opportunity to control our own destiny, an opportunity to win the NFC East – can't be mad about that," he said. "It's a great opportunity for us, a huge challenge, and these are ties that you look forward to – big challenges for us."
"I never said I was mad as hell – I didn't say I was," he added. "I never said I was mad. I'm always happy."
