IRVING, Texas - As a competitor, Cowboys running back Tashard Choice wants as many carries as his coaches will allow.
As a teammate, he'd rather see fellow backs Marion Barber and Felix Jones stay healthy.
Injuries to both players made Choice, then a fourth-round rookie, the Cowboys' default starter last December. He responded by averaging 81.3 yards in the final four games, including three starts.
And with Barber nursing a strained quad this week, the offense might rely heavily on Choice again Monday night against Carolina.
In Sunday's loss to the Giants, Barber injured his quad during a 35-yard run and sat out the last play of the Cowboys' late fourth-quarter touchdown drive. The Cowboys never got the ball back - Giants quarterback Eli Manning directed the winning drive in the final 3:40 - and Cowboys head coach Wade Phillips didn't provide a recovery timetable for his starting back.
Barber had an MRI on Monday, and the Cowboys will continue to monitor his status this week. The Monday night game gives Barber an extra day to rest, but Jones and Choice will step in if he can't play.
"That's probably the best I'd seen Marion play since I've been here," Choice said of Barber's game-high 124 yards, the second-highest total of his five-year career. "He just looked good, looked strong.
"I hate to see him go down in that situation, but if I've got to be ready to roll you know what I'm going to do. I've got to be ready to ride."
Losing Barber this week would stall some of the running game's momentum after gaining 251 yards against the Giants' formidable defensive front. Injuries to defensive linemen Chris Canty (calf) and Justin Tuck (shoulder) depleted the Giants' depth, but the Cowboys' offensive line also created consistent holes for the backs.
The Cowboys currently lead the league in rushing with a 184.5-yard average. The 251 yards against New York, including a career-high tying 96 from Jones, was the franchise's highest total since Oct. 31, 1993 against Philadelphia (271).
"We had some big plays here and there," center Andre Gurode said. "We just felt that as long as we got any of those running backs in the secondary they could do some special things."
Offensive coordinator Jason Garrett called the line's play "real physical."
"I thought our offensive line did an outstanding job," he said. "I thought our tight ends blocked well, our fullback blocked well and when you hand it to Marion and Felix, they're going to make yards for you. That's a good defensive front. They pride themselves on the kind of players they have and how they play with their front four and their linebackers. I thought our guys got after them pretty good."
Unlike the season opener against Tampa Bay - the Buccaneers stacked the line of scrimmage and quarterback Tony Romo responded by passing for a career-high 353 yards - the Cowboys capitalized on the Giants' decision to play their safeties back, presumably to protect their injury-plagued secondary.
Romo only threw for 127 yards Sunday, but the backs did the rest. One 83-yard touchdown drive came solely on the ground, capped off by Romo's 3-yard TD draw.
"Basically they got killed in the running game," Phillips said, "but it wasn't enough to win the game. It didn't turn out to enough to win the game. It's just like the week before - they had eight men in the box and they wanted to stop us from running the football. They stopped us from running the football, and Tony had 350 yards passing. This week we got the opposite effect."
The Cowboys want to establish a similar pick-your-poison approach every week. An inactive Barber would hurt, but the team entered training camp feeling as good about its running back depth as any position on the roster.
Choice has only four carries for 18 yards through two games, but he proved last December he can contribute if needed. He might get another chance against Carolina.
"I knew I wasn't going to get the ball nearly as (much as) those guys," he said. "Whatever chance I get I've got to make the most of mine."
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