Giants Country

Eagles Make Decision Regarding Saquon Barkley’s Game Status vs. Giants

Barkley's quest to set the new single-season rushing record ends in Week 17, as he will not play against the Giants.

Patricia Traina

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

Former New York Giants running back Saquon Barkley, who needs just 101 rushing yards to set a new single-season rushing record, will have to try again another year.

Barkley, who was with the Giants from 2018-2023 before joining the Eagles this offseason, will be among the Eagles starters who will be spectators only during Sunday’s regular-season finale against the Giants, Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni told reporters on Wednesday.

Sirianni’s announcement ends any intrigue about whether Barkley might try to rub his ex-teammates noses in his success by setting the new record against them.

The decision comes as no surprise, though. The Eagles have locked up the No. 2 seed in the postseason and the NFC East.

While it might have been nice for Barkley to break the record, keeping him and other starters healthy ahead of next week’s postseason tournament proved to be a bigger priority than the record.

Instead, he finishes the 2024 season 101 yards shy of breaking Dickerson’s mark, set in 1984. But the decision isn’t that big of a deal as Barkley became the ninth player in NFL history to rush for 2,000 yards, and his 167-yard performance last week against the Dallas Cowboys put him over that mark.

Barkley now joins  Dickerson (2,105 yards in 1984), Adrian Peterson (2,097 yards in 2012), Jamal Lewis (2,066 yards in 2003), Barry Sanders (2,053 yards in 1997), Derrick Henry (2,027 yards in 2020), Terrell Davis (2,008 yards in 1998), Chris Johnson (2,006 yards in 2009), and O.J. Simpson (2,003 yards in 1973) in that exclusive group.

The Giants are trying to close out a disappointing 2024 season by winning their second game in a row after surviving a scoring shootout with the Colts last week, in which the Giants won 45-33. 

The win knocked the Giants out of sole possession of the top spot in the draft order, angering a significant segment of their fan base that viewed the win as meaningless. 

While the Giants can still regain the top spot, they need some other things around them for that to happen.

More Giants Coverage

New York Giants On SI Social Media

Published
Patricia Traina
PATRICIA TRAINA

Patricia Traina has covered the New York Giants for 30+ seasons, and her work has appeared in multiple media outlets, including The Athletic, Forbes, Bleacher Report, and the Sports Illustrated media group. As a credentialed New York Giants press corps member, Patricia has also covered five Super Bowls (three featuring the Giants), the annual NFL draft, and the NFL Scouting Combine. She is the author of The Big 50: The Men and Moments that Made the New York Giants. In addition to her work with New York Giants On SI, Patricia hosts the Locked On Giants podcast. Patricia is also a member of the Pro Football Writers of America and the Football Writers Association of America.

Home/Big Blue+