PHILADELPHIA — 101 yards away from the cusp of history. The opportunity may be too good to pass up for the Philadelphia Eagles and Saquon Barkley.
Barkley is just 101 yards from surpassing Eric Dickerson’s single-season rushing record of 2,105 yards, with one game to spare. The newest member of the 2,000-yard club has to hit a rushing total he’s amassed 11 times in an historic season in Philadelphia.
No-brainer to let Barkley play the final game and give him the opportunity at Dickerson’s record right? The problem, the Eagles are locked into the No. 2 seed and have nothing to play for in the final week of the season. There is no reason to play Barkley, other than to break a record that has stood for 40 years.
“I’m not overly trying to go get it. I’m not scared of it,” an adamant Barkley said after passing the 2,000-yard mark in Sunday’s win over the Dallas Cowboys. “I would love to, but at the end of the day, also, we’ve got bigger things that we’re focusing on, and we’re able to clinch the division right here, whether we play next week or not.
“Rest, I’m fine with that too, because I didn’t come here and sign here just to rush for 2,000 or break a record. I want to do something special, meaning special with the team.”
There’s a part inside Barkley that wants to go for history, knowing he has one opportunity to become the single-season leader for rushing yards in a season. The record is one people remember, the same record O.J. Simpson set when he rushed for 2,003 yards in 1973 and Dickerson broke in 1984 when he rushed for 2,105 yards. Jim Brown held the record before Simpson and Steve Van Buren held it before Brown. All are considered amongst the greatest running backs in NFL history.
This is the stratosphere Barkley would enter if the Eagles give him the opportunity to pass Dickerson, despite having nothing to play for in Week 18. There is only one change at making history.
“I want to be a part of it. Looking back on the year, I wanna say that was my teammate,” said Eagles wide receiver A.J. Brown. “I like to say to my kids I was a part (of the team) when Saquon did that. You know, I was part of that team.
“Who knows what happens next week, but we’ll see.”
The sentiment around the Eagles locker room is to let Barkley go for the record, especially since he’s so close to the mark. Barkley averages 125.3 rushing yards per game, so he’s on pace to pass Dickerson and set the mark.
The record isn’t just for Barkley, but it’s a testament to the Eagles offensive line. The Eagles have had the best offensive line in the NFL for a decade, maintaining one of the best run-blocking units in the game no matter the turnover.
The reason Barkley wanted to come to Philadelphia was because of the offensive line. The unit has never blocked for a runner of Barkley’s caliber either. Setting the single-season rushing record isn’t just for Barkley.
“It’s an opportunity to make history,” said left tackle Jordan Mailata. “We tried to do it today, just on the off-chance of just knowing your coach… We just had the feeling that if we don’t go for it today, we might sit out. We don’t know. Coach hasn’t really said anything yet.”
The decision to rest Barkley or play him will be a discussion outside the Eagles locker room all week. The decision may have already been made. Barkley’s goal was to get 2,000 rushing yards in 16 games, a number that meant just as much as 2,105.
“It’s great to be able to do it in 16 games,” Barkley said. “But I don’t really believe in – say if I play next week and break ED’s record, which, one, would be phenomenal. But I’m not into like, ‘Oh, if you do it in 17 or 16 games.’
“I’m a fan of the position. If that’s the case, then O.J. [Simpson] got the record. O.J. did it in 14 games. I know we don’t really speak about that, but in reality, he rushed for 2,000 in 14 games. ED, it took him 15 to do it. So if anything, it’s like, why are we even having the conversation?
“Or if you’re trying to get ED’s record, if that’s the conversation, it should be, you’ve got to do it in 14. The way football is right now, it’s kind of hard to rush for 2,000 yards in 14 games. So, whether it’s 16, whether it’s 17, it’s a feat that you can never take away from what I was able to do with the O-line. And only eight other players did it, so it’s a special moment.”
If the decision to pass Dickerson was up to Lane Johnson, he would give Barkley the day off. Barkley accomplished the goal he wanted, and Dickerson’s record is sacred because of the number of games he rushed for 2,105 yards.
The number may not matter to Barkley and how many games he reached his rushing total. It does to Johnson, which is part of the reason why he would rest Barkley.
The risk is not worth the reward.
“I was happy he got to 2,000. We wanted that for him,” said Eagles right tackle Lane Johnson. “Shout out to Eric Dickerson. That’s a truly phenomenal feat that he has…How would that be perceived? He has an extra game to break it.
“The way I see it, we’re gonna move to 18 games in a few years and it’s gonna change the game. Shoutout to Eric Dickerson and what he did, but I’m so proud of Saquon and what he was able to do.”
The reverse effect of going for the record? The team Barkley would face to set the single-season rushing record against is the New York Giants, the franchise that allowed Barkley to walk out the door in favor of Daniel Jones (who is no longer in New York either).
Getting the record against the Giants is something that has crossed the Eagles mind. An opportunity to show the Giants what they lost. The exclamation point to an historic season.
“I would love for him to have that record,” said Eagles cornerback Darius Slay. “That’s a big f— you. That’s a big f— you against the Giants, if he could do that. That would be f—ing amazing. That’s why I would do it.”
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