Eagles Saquon Barkley Will Rest, Won't Break Eric Dickeron's Rushing Record

Locked into the No. 2 seed in the NFC playoffs, Philadelphia Eagles coach Nick Sirianni decided to rest his star running back and other starters when the New York Giants visit in Week 18.

Dec 29, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley (26) runs with the ball past Dallas Cowboys safety Juanyeh Thomas (30) at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images / Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

Eric Dickerson’s record will survive, stretching into at least its 41st season after Nick Sirianni said on Wednesday that Saquon Barkley will be one of several starters who will take a seat in Sunday’s meaningless regular-season finale against the New York Giants at Lincoln Financial Field.

“Obviously a very special record that’s been standing for a very long time (40 years) by a great player,” said the Eagles head coach. “It’s a team record that everybody’s involved in, so you weigh in all those things but at the end of the day you just try to do what’s best for the team.”

The Eagles are locked into the No. 2 seed for the upcoming NFC playoffs and will open the postseason either Jan. 11, 12, or 13 against either the Green Bay Packers or Washington Commanders.

Sirianni said he spoke to Barkley as well as position coaches, coordinators, general manager Howie Roseman, and owner Jeffrey Lurie in making a decision that he said was all his and not an easy one to make.

“Good communication is what good teams do," said the coach. "We have so many resources here to be able to discuss and talk. You use all those. Ultimately, I had to make the decision with what I thought was best for the team. Luckily, we have great, selfless guys on this football team, but at the end of the day I had to make the decision of what I felt was best and this is the direction we went.”

It was the right decision, especially considering the Eagles have played 12 straight weeks after an early-season bye in Week 5.

“That definitely played into all our decisions here with our bye week being Week 5, a very early bye week, so it’s very valuable to be able to be in this position to do that,” said Sirianni. “Our goals are to have success and to play good the next game, not only New York but whoever we play after that.

“So, we think this plays into that. It wasn’t the easiest decision to go through, but we have lot of great people in this building, had a lot of input from a lot of different people, players included.”

Eagles RB Saquon Barkley / John McMullen/Eagles on SI

Imagine if Barkley played and had suffered an injury, such as a concussion that would send him into the league’s protocol and force him to miss the first round of the playoffs. The Eagles would never hear the end of it

Sirianni said he spoke wth Barkley about the decision, but wanted to keep his conversations private, as he always does when it comes to all his players.

Barkley can still be celebrated as the ninth running back in league history to rush for more than 2,000 yards. He finished with 2,005, which is the eighth-most ever in the NFL. He was 101 yards away from breaking Dickeron's long-standing record. Barkley will be joined in resting up for the playoffs by several starters.

“There are going to be some guys that are resting, there are going to be some guys that are in reserve roles – you obviously can’t rest everybody with the roster, “ said Sirianni. “That’s our plan moving forward. …What an opportunity for some of the guys who will be playing and maybe don’t get as many reps, so huge, huge opportunity for some guys to do it in an NFL regular season game.”

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