On Saquon Barkley And The Eagles: Too Many Were Focused On The Wrong Chase

Saquon Barkley's impact on the Eagles' offense has been far more important that a rushing record.

Dec 29, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley (26) walks from the tunnel for a game against the Dallas Cowboys at Lincoln Financial Field. / Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

PHILADELPHIA -  The Eagles are going to sit Saquon Barkley and as many key contributors as possible in Sunday’s regular-season finale against the New York Giants. 

At 13-3 and locked into the No. 2 seed in the NFC, Philadelphia has nothing to gain by suiting up the stars that carried them to a third consecutive double-digit win season.

The easy cost-benefit analysis for the organization, highlighted by last season’s scoreboard-watching Week 18 Eagles-Giants matchup at MetLife Stadium, was pretty cut and dry. If there was anything to gain, it’s all hands on deck.

In today’s combative punditry world, language can move far more than the Eagles could Sunday by fighting and clawing for 60 minutes to “gain” history by getting Barkley 101 yards to become the NFL’s all-time single-season rushing leader.

“Gain” from an organizational perspective is team-centric, which is why the Eagles risked players like A.J. Brown and Reed Blankenship in Week 18 last season only to lose them for the playoff loss at Tampa.

Had a path to the No. 1 seed existed for Philadelphia on Sunday, Barkley and his star-studded offensive line would all be suited up and ready to go. The result of that would have likely meant "history" against the moribund Giants.

If you asked most of the “Barkley earned the right to play” crowd what the history they now so revere was back in August before Week 1, few would know that Eric Dickerson was the NFL’s all-time single-season rushing king, and even fewer would know the number (2,105) Barkley would end up chasing.

And if you doubt that, ask yourself or your favorite contrarian who stands arm-in-arm about the NFL’s single-season record for receiving yards and prepare for the confused look (hint, it’s Calvin Johnson at 1,964), before the pivot to the rushing record is more storied.

At that point, you’ve set them up like Vic Fangio toying with a rookie quarterback. 

The next move is to ask about the most high-profile position in sports and who the single-season passing king is (Peyton Manning at 5,477).

Yet, in Philadelphia for those wanting only to be right, Barkley’s chase has turned into Hank Aaron topping Babe Ruth.

Inside the NovaCare Complex, it was an easy decision for the Eagles.

For those who want their cake and to eat it too, that’s fine as well. Just be honest about it.

It would have been a great moment for the franchise and an opportunity for the fan base to spike the football for years.

That said, if Barkley finished with a similar impact, with say 1,700 yards, a looming All-Pro nod, and was the leader in the clubhouse for Offensive Player of the Year, all eyes would still be on the real prize and Dickerson would have remained only in the lexicon of the hardcores.

The unintended consequence of approaching the record spawned a manufactured debate grounded in disingenuous talking points.

And the Eagles aren't clicking the bait.

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