LANDOVER, Md. - DeMarco Murray did not mince words about his lack of touches in his first season with the Philadelphia Eagles.
Murray gained 36 yards on eight carries in Philadelphia's 23-20 loss to the Washington Redskins on Sunday. That gives Murray 47 yards on 29 carries so far in three games since joining the Eagles (1-3) as a free agent after leading the NFL in rushing last season with the Dallas Cowboys.
Asked if he's getting the ball enough, Murray replied: "No, I'm not. I don't think I am. But it's how the plays are being called. I love this offence, I love playing with these guys. It's just how it is."
A reporter followed up with a question about whether Murray has the role he expected to have when he joined coach Chip Kelly in Philadelphia.
"I knew what I was coming in here to do. I knew I was going to be 'the guy,'" said Murray, who missed last weekend's game because of a hamstring injury. "I knew that (Darren) Sproles and (Ryan) Mathews are two great backs. I knew (in) this offence, a lot of guys touch the ball, and that's how they make a lot of plays."
This Eagles' offence has not been making many big plays, though.
At least they tried to throw deep for a change, with Sam Bradford throwing three second-half touchdown passes of 62, 39 and 10 yards after the Eagles trailed 13-0 at halftime against the Redskins (2-2).
Murray even turned in his longest run this season, a 30-yarder. But take away that play, and he had 6 yards on his other seven carries.
Does Murray need to go to Kelly and demand more work?
"No," Murray replied, "I don't need to go anywhere."
There were plenty of other problems for the Eagles.
New kicker Caleb Sturgis missed an extra-point attempt and a 33-yard field-goal try — four big points in what turned out to be a three-point, back-and-forth game.
"It's tough knowing I didn't do my part," said Sturgis, signed last week to replace the injured Cody Parkey.
And Philadelphia allowed Redskins quarterback Kirk Cousins to direct a go-ahead, 90-yard touchdown drive in the fourth quarter, which he capped with a 4-yard scoring pass to Pierre Garcon with 26 seconds left.
"That final drive — I wasn't capable of doing that when I came in the league as a rookie. It takes time. It takes failure. It takes learning from experiences," said Cousins, who earned the starting QB job ahead of 2012 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year Robert Griffin III in preseason. "A culmination of, I guess it would be, three-plus seasons' worth of work got me to a point where I was able to make the necessary plays on that drive."
Starting at its own 10 with a little more than six minutes remaining, Washington used a balance of runs — five for 41 yards — and passes — Cousins went 6 for 10 for 44 yards — to work its way down the field to take the lead for good.
"A lot of dinking and dunking and shallow crosses and running game," Eagles defensive co-ordinator Bill Davis said. "They kept a good mix going. A lot of teams would just go ultimately to the pass."
Cousins' last three completions all went to Garcon, for a total of 32 yards.
On the winning score, the Eagles sent a blitz at Cousins, but he put the football in a tight window, and Garcon did the rest.
"He is one of the greatest competitors on this football team," coach Jay Gruden said about Garcon, "and people feed off of that."
Cousins finished 31 for 46 for 290 yards, the one TD — and, most importantly for a guy with a pair of two-interception games already this season, no turnovers. He did fumble a snap in the first half at Philadelphia's 1, but recovered it himself and plunged forward for a touchdown, with the help of a big push from rookie running back Matt Jones.
It was the first rushing TD allowed by Philadelphia this season.
Notes: Bradford finished 15 for 28 for 270 yards. His three TD tosses equaled his season total through three games. ... Redskins K Dustin Hopkins went 3 for 3 on field-goal tries, making from 20, 33 and 38 yards.
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