Morris is expected to miss at least a month with a chest injury that he sustained Sunday in Dallas. His arm was in a sling when he left the locker room at Texas Stadium.

"We'll evaluate him day-to-day like everybody else and take it from there," Patriots Coach Bill Belichick said.

Morris got hurt on the second play of the third quarter. After he ran for two yards, Patriots right guard Stephen Neal (305 pounds) and Cowboys linebacker Bradie James (239 pounds) fell on Morris.

Morris was on the ground for about five minutes and needed to be helped up by two medical attendants. He walked to the sideline.

"I broke my collarbone three times, so I know exactly what he's feeling," cornerback Ellis Hobbs said. "My prayers go out to him. I was hoping that it wasn't to that degree or whatever it is. I don't know exactly, something in the collarbone, but I know how he feels."

Morris rushed for 117 yards Oct. 1 at Cincinnati and 102 yards the next week against the Browns, the first two games Maroney missed.

According to his teammates, Morris was looking forward to playing against his former team Sunday in Miami. He played with the Dolphins the last three seasons before signing as a free agent with the Patriots in March.

"Sammy's done a great job, there's no doubt about that," quarterback Tom Brady said. "I'm sure he'd love to play this week. We'll see how that goes. We'll see how his shoulder does and, hopefully, he's back out there as soon as he can get back out there. In the meantime, we'll have to fill in with the other backs."

Kevin Faulk, usually used in passing situations, did a terrific job filling in against the Cowboys after Morris got hurt. He rushed for 50 yards on 13 carries, all in the second half.

The offensive line opened up holes for Faulk during a 12-play, 61-yard drive that took 6:04 off the clock. That drive forced the Cowboys to use two timeouts and it helped set up Stephen Gostkowski's 22-yard field goal with 4 minutes left that made it 41-27.

Faulk carried the ball six times for 29 yards on the drive. He gained five yards up the middle on his first carry. On his next one, he went around the left end for eight yards. Faulk picked up a first down on each of his next two carries, picking up five and nine yards.

"It's just about knowing what you have to do as a player, knowing your job, being ready to do your job no matter what the situation is," Faulk said. "Last week was a situation where a guy went down and another player had to step up and he was going to try to do the job."

His 13 carries were more than half of his 2006 total when he had 25. The last time Faulk carried the ball 13 times was in 2004, doing it twice that season.

"I'm a competitor. So whatever comes my way, I'm going to try to do it," Faulk said. "Whatever I have to do to help the team, that's what I'm going to do."

His workload against the Dolphins might depend on whether Maroney returns. Maroney had limited participation in practice today, according to the injury report. But the Patriots don't necessarily need him against an 0-6 team that is allowing an average of 30.3 point a game.

Belichick said he wouldn't hesitate to let fullback Heath Evans carry the ball on first and second down though he hasn't carried it once in the last two games and has 10 carries for the season. Kyle Eckel, another fullback who has played mostly on special teams, is also an option.

"We have confidence if he has it. We have confidence if Heath has it," Belichick said. "Of course Kevin, Sammy and Laurence are all proven productive guys."