Saquon Barkley’s standout stats in a dominant and historic first season with the Eagles
Look at Barkley's memorable 2,005-yard rushing season through statistical measures, and it's all the more impressive.
More than 2,000 rushing yards later, Howie Roseman’s offseason investment in Saquon Barkley is shaping up to be a shrewd decision.
Despite sitting out the Eagles’ regular-season finale against the New York Giants, Barkley finished the year with 2,005 rushing yards, the most in the league. The 27-year-old running back is one of just nine running backs in NFL history to eclipse the 2,000-yard mark, joining an exclusive fraternity that features Eric Dickerson (2,105 in 1984), Adrian Peterson (2,097 in 2012), Jamal Lewis (2,006 in 2003), Barry Sanders (2,053 in 1997), Derrick Henry (2,027 in 2020), Terrell Davis (2,008 in 1998), and Chris Johnson (2,006 in 2009).
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While Barkley didn’t have the opportunity to try to break Dickerson’s single-season record, the underlying stats behind his first season with the Eagles reflect a dominant performance.
When the Eagles shifted to a run-focused approach following the Week 5 bye week, Barkley became a focal point of the offense and assumed a hefty all-around workload. Before Week 18 when most of the offensive starters rested in preparation for the playoffs, Barkley had accounted for 36.6% of the Eagles’ scrimmage yards this year, according to Next Gen Stats. In that span, he was the only player in the league to account for more than 30% of his team’s scrimmage yards.
Barkley’s 378 total touches for 2,283 yards this season were the most in the league and of his seven-year NFL career. Atlanta Falcons running back Bijan Robinson was second with 365 touches in 17 games. Los Angeles Rams running back Kyren Williams, who also played in 16 games, trailed him by 28 touches, while Henry finished his season with the Baltimore Ravens with 34 fewer touches despite playing in one more game.
Who wins in a race — Barkley or one of the golf carts he and Jalen Hurts gifted Eagles offensive linemen for the holidays? Don’t count out Barkley. He finished with four of the top 20 speediest plays in the league this season, the most of any individual player, per Next Gen Stats. His fastest play of the season occurred in Week 7 in his return to MetLife Stadium to face the Giants, when he hit a top speed of 21.93 mph on his 55-yard carry.
That play was the fourth-fastest of the year overall and the second among running backs (Detroit Lions running back Jahmyr Gibbs reached 22.03 mph on his 70-yard touchdown run in Week 8 against the Tennessee Titans). Barkley also holds the fifth-place spot thanks to his 72-yard touchdown run in Week 12 against the Rams when he hit 21.91 mph.
No skill player closed out games like Barkley did this year. Barkley finished the year with 1,245 second-half rushing yards, according to StatHead. Not only did that second-half total lead the league in 2024, but it was also the most in the NFL since 1994, when the database began to track player splits. He also led the league in second-half scrimmage yards (1,397) in that span.
Barkley wore on defenses late in games, racking up 6.7 yards per carry in second halves, a 1.9-yard increase on average over his first-half clip. The only two running backs who have finished ahead of Barkley in second-half yards per carry since 1994 are Nick Chubb in 2020 with the Cleveland Browns (7.0) and Sanders in 1997 (6.8).
Barkley repeatedly lauded the Eagles’ offensive line for its contributions to his stellar season, and for a good reason. The group helped create lanes in the run game that Barkley could exploit with his speed before coming into contact with a defender. Barkley averaged 3.8 yards before contact, according to Pro Football Reference, which was the most in the NFL this season among running backs. It’s also tied for the most among tailbacks since 2018 (former Denver Broncos running back Phillip Lindsay also averaged 3.8 that season), the year Pro Football Reference began to track the advanced stat.
That clip before contact in 2024 was slightly less than Barkley’s 3.9 yards per run, before and after contact, in his final season with the Giants. Barkley finished the 2024 season with 5.8 yards per carry, a career best that ranked second in the league among running backs behind Henry (5.9 yards per run).