Eagles' Saquon Barkley On Cusp Of 40-Year NFL Record

The Eagles can make history next week

Dec 29, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley (26) runs with the football during the second quarter against the Dallas Cowboysat Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images / Eric Hartline-Imagn Images

The biggest question for the Philadelphia Eagles over the next week is going to be whether or not the team lets Saquon Barkley go for history.

Barkley became the ninth running back in National Football League history to surpass 2,000 rushing yards in a season on Sunday in the team's NFC East-clinching victory over the Dallas Cowboys. Barkley is up to 2,005 rushing yards on the season. He is just 100 yards away from tying NFL legend Eric Dickerson for the single-season rushing record and 101 yards away from setting a new mark.

Dickerson set the league record in 1984 so it has held up for just about 40 years. Now, Barkley can pass it. There is an argument that the Eagles should rest him and the rest of the team's starters because of the fact that the team has the No. 2 seed in the NFC playoffs locked up. That's a fair point. Philadelphia won't have a bye week in the playoffs, but it also could make sense to give Barkley at least some time against his former team to see what he can do. The Eagles will face the New York Giants next week.

On the topic of the record, some already have talked about the fact that Dickerson had only 16 games to set the record in 1984 while Barkley possibly could have 17 if he plays. While this is a fair point, Dickerson had 379 carries in 1984 in 16 games. Barkley currently is at 345 carries. So, realistically he could pass the record in fewer carries if given the opportunity.

It's a different game now than it was when Dickerson was playing, but if Barkley can break the record it will be equally as impressive.

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