Eagles supporters surrounded Saquon Barkley with MVP chants in Philadelphia (AP)! after he set the team’s season rushing record with a 9-yard run.
In a 22-16 victory over Carolina, Barkley ran for 124 yards to increase his season total to 1,623, breaking the records held by Eagles Hall of Famers Wilbert Montgomery and LeSean McCoy in a single season.
Barkley’s total was sufficient to surpass McCoy’s 2013 total of 1,607 yards.
Barkley also kept up his pace to surpass Eric Dickerson’s 2,105-yard NFL single-season rushing record, which he established with the Los Angeles Rams in 1984.
Barkley should accomplish that goal at his current rate, perhaps before the season’s seventeenth game, something Dickerson and the NFL did not have in 1984.
Barkley put a checkmark next to the team’s single-season rushing yards record in the caption of an Instagram post that said, “Thankful.”
Here is a preview of Barkley’s future and his prospects of apprehending Dickerson:
Where does Barkley stand in the record chase?
With 1,623 yards, Barkley leads the NFL in rushing, 216 yards more than Derrick Henry of Baltimore, who had a bye on Sunday.
His average yardage per game is 124.8. He would surpass Dickerson as the greatest single-season rusher in NFL history at that rate and with one more game left. To surpass Dickerson’s 40-year-old record, he needs to gain 483 yards in the last four games. Barkley would only be 17 yards more than Dickerson’s 2,105 total if he were to reach his pace of 2,122 yards.
What s the schedule like for Barkley?
Barkley won’t encounter much resistance in the final stretch based just on defense quality.
He feasted on the Panthers’ defense, which was among the NFL’s worst against the run. Against Carolina, Barkley averaged 6.2 yards on 20 carries, and he should have no trouble maintaining that pace for at least three of the following four games.
The Steelers, who visit Philadelphia on Sunday, should present Barkley with the most difficult test in his quest for a record. In terms of run defense, Pittsburgh ranks fourth in the NFL.
Barkley might have a rough time after the Steelers.
The Giants, Dallas, and Washington, the Eagles’ final three opponents, are all in the bottom half of the league.
Why is Barkley with the Eagles?
Barkley, 27, has excelled in his debut season with the Eagles.
BetMGM Sportsbook has him as one of the league MVP favorites. The only guy with a higher chance of winning MVP on Monday was Josh Allen, the quarterback for the Buffalo Bills.
Barkley would undoubtedly not like the 17th-game asterisk that would accompany the total, but he could love the tantalizing twist of breaking the record against his former team, the Giants.
In the 2018 draft, Barkley was selected with the second overall pick after graduating from Penn State. He rushed for 1,307 yards in his debut season and was an immediate success in New York. During his six years with the Giants, Barkley recorded 288 receptions for 2,100 yards and 12 touchdowns and ran for 5,211 yards and 35 scores.
After the Giants decided not to place a franchise tag on him, he became a free agent.
Barkley became the highest-paid running back in Eagles history when he agreed to a three-year contract worth $26 million guaranteed and $37.75 million total.
Hard Knocks, a reality sports documentary television series, documented his free agency.
Giants general manager Joe Schoen informed Barkley in the pivotal sequence that the team will neither extend an offer to him nor assign him the franchise tag. Instead, Barkley was shipped to an NFC East opponent after the Giants allowed him to test the free-agent market.
In the series, team owner John Mara told Schoen, “I’ll have a hard time sleeping if Saquon goes to Philadelphia.” He is by far our most popular player, as I have stated, simply by being around enough players.
The Eagles had generally been reluctant to spend valuable salary cap money or high draft picks on a running back under general manager Howie Roseman.
Barkley was considered a special case.
Can Barkley stay healthy?
When healthy, Barkley put in a lot of work in New York, and he has been a workhorse this season. Barkley appeared in 16 games with the Giants just twice.
Last season, he participated in 14 games, missing three due to a high ankle injury. He scored six touchdowns and ran for 962 yards. In 2020, he only played two games due to an ACL tear.
Barkley led the NFL with 266 carries this season, demonstrating his durability while playing through minor injuries.
However, injuries may not be his only issue. The Eagles are currently the No. 2 seed in the NFC after a nine-game winning streak. The final game against New York might be pointless if they secure that slot early, and coach Nick Sirianni might have to choose between Barkley going for the mark and sitting out before the playoffs.
Who was Eric Dickerson?
Dickerson was one of the greatest running backs of the 1980s and was regarded by many as one of the greatest of all time. He wore his signature goggles and Jheri curl.
Dickerson had 13,259 yards at the end of his career, which was ninth in NFL history. With 18,355 yards, Emmitt Smith holds the NFL rushing record for his career.
Dickerson broke Buffalo’s O.J. Simpson’s 1973 record of 2,003 yards rushing in a single season in 1984 by surpassing 100 yards rushing 12 times.
Prior to the NFL’s expansion to 16 games in 1978, Simpson’s record was 14 games. In 2021, the NFL switched to 17 games.
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