PHILADELPHIA – 101 meters from the turning point of history. The opportunity may be too good to pass up for the Philadelphia Eagles and Saquon Barkley.
Barkley is just 101 yards away from surpassing Eric Dickerson’s single-season record of 2,105 rushing yards with one game remaining. The newest member of the 2,000-yard club must reach a rushing total he amassed 11 times during a historic season in Philadelphia.
There is no idea of letting Barkley play the last game and giving him the opportunity to break Dickerson’s record, right? The problem is 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 don’t try to go for it too much. I’m not afraid of it,” Barkley said flatly 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, we also have bigger things we’re focused on, and we’re capable of clinching the division here whether we play next week or not.
“Relax, that’s fine with me too, because I didn’t come here and sign here just to rush to hit 2,000 or break a record. I want to do something special, that is, special with the team.”
There’s a part inside Barkley that wants to make history, knowing he has an opportunity to become the single-season leader in rushing yards in a season. The record is the one people remember, the same record set by OJ Simpson when he ran for 2,003 yards in 1973 and that Dickerson broke in 1984 when he ran for 2,105 yards. Jim Brown held the record before Simpson and Steve Van Buren held it before Brown. All are considered among the greatest running backs in the world. NFL history.
This is the stratosphere Barkley would enter if the Eagles gave him the opportunity to overtake Dickerson, even if he had nothing to play for in Week 18. There’s only one change to get in in history.
“I want to be a part of it. Looking back on the year, I want to say he was my teammate,” Eagles wide receiver AJ Brown said. “I like to tell my kids that I was on (the team) when Saquon did that. You know, I was on that team.
“Who knows what happens next week, but we’ll see.”
The feeling in the Eagles locker room is to let Barkley go for the record, especially since he is so close to the goal. Barkley is averaging 125.3 rushing yards per game, so he’s on pace to pass Dickerson and set the mark.
The record isn’t just about Barkley, but it’s a testament to the Eagles’ offensive line. The Eagles have the NFL’s best offensive line in a decade, maintaining one of the best run-blocking units in the game regardless of the turnover.
The reason Barkley wanted to come to Philadelphia was because of the offensive line. The unit also never blocked a runner of Barkley’s caliber. Setting the single-season rushing record isn’t just for Barkley.
“It’s an opportunity to make history,” left tackle Jordan Mailata said. “We tried to do it today, just on the off chance of knowing your coach… We just had a feeling that if we don’t do it today, we might not go. 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 already have been made. Barkley’s goal was to get 2,000 rushing yards in 16 games, a number that meant as much as 2,105.
“It’s awesome to be able to do it in 16 games,” Barkley said. “But I don’t really believe in it – let’s say if I play next week and break ED’s record, which would be phenomenal. But I’m not like, ‘Oh, if you do it in 17 or 16 games .’ ‘
“I’m a fan of that position. If that’s the case, then OJ (Simpson) got the record. OJ did it in 14 games. I know we don’t really talk about it, but in reality, he rushed for 2000. in 14 ED games, it took him 15 to do so. So if anything, why are we even having this conversation?
“Or if you’re trying to get the ED record, if that’s the conversation it should be, you’ve got to do it in 14 games. The way football is right now it’s pretty hard to rush over 2,000 yards in 14 games So whether it’s 16, whether it’s 17, that’s an accomplishment that you can never take away from what I was able to do with the O-line. And only eight other players. have it done that, so it’s a special moment.”
If the decision to pass on Dickerson came down to Lane Johnson, he would give Barkley the day off. Barkley achieved the goal he wanted, and Dickerson’s record is sacred because of the number of games he played for 2,105 yards.
The number may not matter to Barkley and how many games he has reached his rushing total. Johnson does, which is part of the reason he would rest Barkley.
The risk is not worth the reward.
“I was happy he got to 2,000. We wanted that for him,” Eagles right tackle Lane Johnson said. “Thanks to Eric Dickerson. This is a truly phenomenal feat that he is achieving… How would that be viewed? He has one more match to break it.
“The way I see it, we’re going to go to 18 games in a few years and that’s going to be a game changer. Kudos to Eric Dickerson and what he’s done, but I’m so proud of Saquon and what he’s been able to do. TO DO. “.
The opposite effect of the record? The team Barkley would face to set the single-season rushing record is the New York Giants, the franchise that let Barkley out 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’ minds. An opportunity to show the Giants what they have lost. The exclamation point of a historic season.
“I would love for him to have that record,” Eagles cornerback Darius Slay said. “That’s a big fucking you. That’s a big fucking you against the Giants, if he could do that. It would be fucking amazing. That’s why I would do it.”
