Dallas Cowboys' running back DeMarco Murray went into last Sunday's contest with the New York Giants tied with legendary Hall of Famer Jim Brown for most consecutive games with 100-yards rushing to start a season, six to be exact.
After Murray helped his Cowboys defeat the Giants with his record-breaking seventh straight 100-yard rushing day, he finally garnered the attention of the very man whose record he had surpassed - Brown.
"Well, I'm glad you said that because I had no idea - not even an inkling - and all of a sudden I'm listening to my name because a young man is doing something great," Brown told 103.3 FM ESPN on Monday, per Fox Sports. "So I have to start off by giving him congratulations because the Dallas Cowboys are winning now and his contribution is a great part of that. That's the reason for the fact that they're winning is he's having a good year. He has my respect."
Brown, who played nine seasons in the NFL for the Cleveland Browns from 1957 to 1965, is widely considered one of the greatest - if not the greatest - running backs to ever play the game. He made it to the Pro Bowl every year of his career and was selected unanimously as an All-NFL pick eight times, according to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
His respect is not something to be taken lightly, and according to Fox Sports, Murray's eyes widened after the game Sunday when asked about Brown and breaking his record.
Heading into Sunday's game against New York, Murray was on pace for a whopping 424 carries this season, and some are worried that the workload could be detrimental to the longevity of his career, according to CBSSports.com.
But the notoriously hard-running Brown didn't want to talk about the possibility of lessening Murray's carries.
"No, football is a difficult game. It's very physical; it's a mental game also," he said. "And running backs want to run the ball. The worst thing to do to a running back is not give him the ball. And so many running backs get better the more carries they have. So I don't want to hear any running back complaining about getting the ball too much or anyone telling 'em that you're going to overwork one because I don't know how you're going to overwork a really in-shape, intelligent running back."
