Saquon Barkley’s pursuit of Eric Dickerson’s NFL rushing record ends: ‘I’m truly at peace with it’

Saquon Barkley’s pursuit of the NFL single-season rushing record will end 100 yards short.

Eagles coach Nick Sirianni revealed Wednesday the running back will be among the starters rested for the team’s regular-season finale against the New York Giants this Sunday. As a result, Barkley will finish the season with 2,005 rushing yards, exactly 100 yards shy of the mark Eric Dickerson set in 1984.

“We’re going to rest some guys,” Sirianni said. “… He’ll probably be someone that rests.”

At 13-3, the Eagles enter the Week 18 matchup against the Giants already locked into the No. 2 seed in the NFC, something Sirianni pointed to as one of the factors in the decision to rest Barkley and Co. He also cited the Eagles’ Week 5 bye coming so early as a reason to prioritize giving the team’s main contributors a chance to recuperate before the postseason begins.

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Sirianni said he had conversations with Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie, general manager Howie Roseman, members of the coaching staff, and a handful of players that included Barkley before making the decision. Players returned to the NovaCare Complex on Wednesday for the first time since clinching the NFC East with a 41-7 win over the Dallas Cowboys last Sunday.

“A lot plays into it,” Sirianni said. “Obviously, it’s a very special record that’s been standing for a very long time by a great player. And obviously, it’s a team record that everybody is involved in. ... You weigh all those things, but at the end of the day, you just try to do what’s best for the team. Again, when the bye was, how guys are feeling, the bumps and bruises we can take care of.

“Our goals are to have success and to play good the next game we play. Not only New York, but whoever we play after that, and we think that this plays into that. It wasn’t the easiest decision to go through, but we have great people in this building. … We have selfless guys that want to do what’s best for the football team.”

Speaking after the team’s walkthrough on Wednesday, Barkley said he would have been willing to chase the record given the opportunity, but was at peace with the coach’s decision and without disappointment.

“He asked me if I wanted to go for it,” Barkley said. “I said on Sunday that I probably didn’t care too much for it, but then I slept on it, I said it was an opportunity to put my name in football history. I may never get another opportunity like that again, so I’m down. But at the end of the day I don’t care for putting the team at risk.

“My reaction was I told my family, obviously my family probably wanted it a little more than me. But at the end of the day, the most important thing is winning football games and going to the playoffs. I’ve got a bigger goal in mind.”

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Against the Cowboys, Barkley became the ninth player in NFL history to surpass the 2,000-yard mark and had 167 yards on 31 attempts. His 2,005 yards ranks eighth all-time just ahead of O.J. Simpson’s 1973 season and just behind Chris Johnson’s 2009 campaign. Barkley also became just the second player in the last decade to surpass the mark, joining Ravens running back Derrick Henry, who did so with the Tennessee Titans in 2020.

A few players, including left tackle Jordan Mailata and guard Landon Dickerson, said they planned to advocate for the chance to suit up against the Giants for Barkley to chase the record after the game. But Barkley said Sirianni’s choice to rest the starters will help put his mind at ease because of the potential risk playing for the record may have posed for his teammates specifically.

“I wanted to do it, but once I found out that we’re not, it kind of made it easier for me,” Barkley said. “Because it’s not my decision, it was coach’s decision. I’m glad I didn’t have to make that decision because, say you go out there for selfish reasons and something negative happens and I’m the one that’s out there trying to get the offensive line to go play and beat the record for me, that’s crazy. I’m just happy I didn’t have to make that decision. Nick made it pretty easy on me and I’m truly at peace with it.”

Even without playing this Sunday, Barkley will likely finish the season with a league-high 378 touches. Los Angeles Rams running back Kyren Wiliams ranks second with 350 touches, but he’s also expected to rest this Sunday with the 10-6 Rams looking ahead to the playoffs as well.

Barkley said the heavy workload hasn’t left him feeling run down going into the postseason, but acknowledged the benefit the rest this weekend will have for him given the long stretch without a bye.

“It’s important because we haven’t had a bye since Week 5,” Barkley said. “... I think the rest is definitely going to help rather than hurt us. Me personally, I feel great, if I had to go out and get the record, I feel good enough to do it, too.

“I made a joke to one of my boys that my body doesn’t feel like I rushed for 2,000 yards.”