What Saquon Barkley Needs to Break Eric Dickerson's Single-Season NFL Rushing Record

Ryan Phillips | Dec 29, 2024

Barkley has rushed for 2,005 yards in the first 16 games of the 2024 NFL season. / Eric Hartline-Imagn Images

Saquon Barkley is on the verge of history.

Barkley exploded on Sunday as his Philadelphia Eagles smashed the Dallas Cowboys 41-7. The star running back racked up 167 yards on 31 carries, which put him over 2,000 rushing yards on the season. He became only the ninth player in NFL history to accomplish that feat and he still has one week to go.

The Eagles are 13–3 and will face the lowly New York Giants in Week 18, who just so happen to be the team that allowed Barkley to walk away over the offseason. It seems like there would be plenty of motivation to turn in a big game.

Eric Dickerson set the NFL's single-season rushing record in 1984 while a member of the Los Angeles Rams. He had 2,105 yards that season. That mark could be broken next week.

Through 16 games, Barkley has 345 rushes for 2,005 yards and 13 touchdowns. That means he'll only need 100 rushing yards to tie Dickerson's record and 101 yards to break it next week.

PLAYER	YEAR	RUSH YDS
Eric Dickerson	1984	2,105
Adrian Peterson	2012	2,097
Jamal Lewis	2003	2,066
Barry Sanders	1997	2,053
Derrick Henry	2020	2,027
Terrell Davis	1998	2,008
Chris Johnson	2009	2,006
Saquon Barkley*	2024	2,005*
O.J. Simpson	1973	2,003

For context, Barkley has gone over 100 yards 11 times this season, and the Giants have one of the NFL's worst rushing defenses.

If Barkley plays in Week 18, there's a good chance Dickerson's record will fall. He currently has the eighth-highest single-season rushing total of all-time, slightly ahead of O.J. Simpson's 2,003 yards in 1973, and one behind the 2,006 yards Chris Johnson rushed for in 2009.

---

More of the Latest Around the NFL

feed