How many yards does Saquon Barkley need to set a new NFL rushing record?
Barkley could still set a new NFL single-season rushing record, but it's unclear if the Eagles will even need their starters to play next week.
Saquon Barkley remains on pace to set a new NFL rushing record after the Eagles lopsided victory against the Dallas Cowboys at the Linc Sunday.
Barkley, who topped LeSean McCoy’s Eagles single-season rushing record earlier this month, rushed for 167 yards against the Cowboys and is nearing Eric Dickerson’s long-standing NFL rushing record, set back in 1984.
“I don’t think he’ll break it,” Dickerson told the Los Angeles Times in a recent interview. “But if he breaks it, he breaks it. Do I want him to break it? Absolutely not.”
Here’s a look at Barkley’s stats and what he needs to do to top Dickerson’s rushing record with two games left in the season.
How many rushing yards does Barkley have this season?
Barkley heads into Week 18 with 2,005 yards rushing this season, which leads the NFL. He’s averaging 125.3 rushing yards per game, a pace that would put him around 2,130 rushing yards for the season.
He added 167 yards Sunday against the Cowboys before being taken out midway through the fourth quarter.
Barkley has already topped his career high of 1,312 rushing yards, which he posted in 2022 with the New York Giants. He’s also rushed for 13 touchdowns this year, a new career high, topping the 11 touchdowns he scored during his rookie season with the Giants in 2018.
Who holds the record for most rushing yards in a single season?
The record belongs to Hall of Famer Eric Dickerson, who rushed 2,105 yards for the Los Angeles Rams in 1984 during his second season in the NFL. Dickerson rushed for more than 100 yards in 12 of his 16 games that season, including two games where he topped 200 yards.
Over the course of his 11-year career, Dickerson rushed for 13,259 yards, the ninth-most in NFL history. Former Cowboys great Emmitt Smith holds the all-time career NFL rushing record with 18,355 yards.
Barkley is just the ninth running back in NFL history to rush for over 2,000 yards in a season. The most recent player to eclipse the mark was Derrick Henry in 2020, who rushed for 2,027 yards with the Tennessee Titans.
How many rushing yards does Barkley need to break Dickerson’s record?
With one game left on the 17-game schedule, Barkley is just 101 yards away from overtaking Dickerson and claiming the NFL record for most rushing yards in a season.
It remains to be seen if the Eagles would even turn to Barkley if they have no shot at landing the NFC’s No. 1 seed in Week 18 and end up treating the Giants’ game as a bye.
If he plays, Barkley has a good shot at breaking the record — the Giants have the second-worst rushing defense in the league, allowing opponents to rush for over 142 yards per game.
» READ MORE: NFL playoff scenarios: Eagles, Lions, Vikings, Commanders and more
Barkley would need a lot of catches to break another NFL record
In addition to the NFL’s single-season rushing record, Barkley had a chance to set a new NFL record for scrimmage yards in a season. But that seems out of reach with one game remaining this season.
Chris Johnson currently holds the NFL record with 2,509 scrimmage yards (rushing and passing), which he gained with the Titans in 2009. After Sunday’s win, Barkley leads the NFL with 2,283 yards, but would need 226 total yards against the Giants to break Johnson’s record.
Things aren’t trending in Barkley’s direction. He’s had a total of just five receptions for 21 yards over the past five games, and it’s been more than a month since he’s topped 50 receiving yards in a single game.
Barkley did top LeSean McCoy’s franchise record of 2,146 all-purpose yards set in 2013.