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IRVING, Texas - Miles Austin's history-making 250 yards and two touchdowns against the Chiefs, including the winning score in overtime, proved quite persuasive. Head coach Wade Phillips subsequently declared more playing time for his fourth-year receiver.
Tashard Choice didn't topple any 43-year-old franchise records, but the Cowboys' third-string running back made his own case for more work: 92 yards on eight carries, including a 36-yard touchdown that sparked the comeback.
"It's the same thing - I think we've got to give him some touches," Phillips said.
The running back situation again becomes crowded, albeit welcome, if the bye week improves the health of Marion Barber and Felix Jones.
Barber has been limited by a strained quadriceps in the last two games, and it's possible the injury will continue to affect his explosiveness after the bye. Jones hasn't practiced since spraining his posterior cruciate ligament Sept. 28 against Carolina, and it's uncertain whether he'll be able to play next Sunday against Atlanta.
If and when the trio returns to full strength, the Cowboys will try to get all three involved in the flow of the offense.
"Those guys are going to be the main guys," Choice said. "I understand that my role is to help them, so that if they go down then my role steps up. I can't say, 'I want to be this or want to be that' until they tell me, 'This is what we want from you.'"
In the meantime, the former fourth-round pick uses each precious carry to defy his doubters.
He hasn't forgotten his second-team All-ACC selection in 2006 despite leading the conference in rushing as a Georgia Tech junior.
Or last year's pre-draft chatter that, despite a solid 40-yard dash time (4.52) at the NFL scouting combine, he lacked elite rushing speed.
"Tashard Choice was slow," he recalled hearing.
Or Sports Illustrated mistakenly referring to him as "Rashard Choice" earlier this month.
"That I don't care about," Choice said. "The thing I care about is things like leading the ACC in rushing and you're not first-team ACC. Things like that. That's what disrespectful to me. But it's just motivation to come out here and prove people wrong."
He's done it with remarkable consistency. Last year Choice averaged 5.1 yards on 92 total carries. In five games this year, he has rushed 44 times for 225 yards - a 5.1-yard average.
The Cowboys aren't surprised. They knew they'd pilfered a talented running back on the second day of the 2008 draft.
Choice played sparingly as a rookie until injuries to Barber and Jones made him the primary rusher. He averaged 81.3 yards in four games. This year he has settled into third-down duty, responsible for picking up blitzes as well as first downs.
Running backs coach Skip Peete said Choice's grasp of the game is almost "like a coach" - an important trait when blitzing defenses give some "funky looks."
"It's a joy to have him, to come off the field and explain exactly what happened," Peete said. "'Coach, the defensive end came inside, the linebacker scraped outside, (left tackle) Flo (Adams) did this so I did this.' Not everybody can do that."
Peete chuckles at the notion that three's a crowd. When he coached the Raiders' running backs earlier in the decade, six different players - four tailbacks and two fullbacks - got touches in every game.
"Tyrone Wheatley and Charlie Garner played on first and second down," Peete said. "Terry Kirby was specialty plays, special situations. Randy Jordan played on third down. Jon Ritchie was a first- and second-down fullback. Zack Crockett spelled him and when we went short yardage/goal line, he was the tailback.
"But they all understood. Garner and Wheatley knew, 'If I didn't score outside the 5-yard line, that guy wearing No. 32, Zack Crockett, is going to score.'
"This is a mild juggling act."
One the Cowboys' coaches will embrace when Jones rejoins Barber and Choice in the lineup.
Just don't expect Choice to stay on the bench.
"We can't eliminate him," Phillips said. "He makes plays also. It's a good situation to have. The more players you have, the more guys that can make plays, that's what you want."
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Rob Phillips - 
