AP

Cowboys running back DeMarco Murray carried a workload unseen in the NFL in five years on Thursday night.

Murray had 32 carries for 179 yards and nine catches for 49 yards in the win at Chicago. That total of 41 touches made him the first NFL player to go over 40 touches in a game since Jerome Harrison of the Browns had 41 touches in December of 2009.

Murray’s 179 yards represented a season high, and he now has a whopping 1,606 yards on the year. With three games to go, Murray is 500 yards away from breaking Eric Dickerson’s single-season record of 2,105 rushing yards. Murray needs to average 167 yards a game for the last three games to break the record. If Murray reaches 100 yards in each of the next three games, he’ll also tie Barry Sanders’s record of 14 100-yard rushing games in a season.

On Thursday night, Murray’s nine catches represented a career high, and he now has 53 catches for 392 yards this season. Overall, Murray has touched the ball 373 times this season and gained 1,998 yards from scrimmage.

The Cowboys are running Murray into the ground — a winning strategy this season, but one that could be hard on his body in the long run. Just in time for Murray to become a free agent.