Saquon Record Quest Heats Up: Eagles Star Ready to Make History in…
With the Philadelphia Eagles having already secured a playoff berth, and having no chance to play for a first-round bye, the team has decided to bench Saquon Barkley in Week 18.
This means that fans will not be able to see the star running back make history, as he will end the season just 100 yards shy of breaking Eric Dickerson’s all-time single-season rushing record.
Dickerson set the NFL record back in 1984 after going 2,105 yards.
Fans, of course, were not happy with the decision as Barkley breaking the record against the New York Giants would have been fitting, given that he spent the first six seasons of his career with them before joining the Eagles in 2024, but he is content with the team’s decision, saying that he’s going for something bigger than a solo record.
“…My reaction was I told my family, obviously my family probably wanted it a little more than me,” Barkley said, according to The Telegraph. “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.”
Barkley became the ninth player in NFL history to record 2,000 rushing yards in a season and will finish with 2,005, 100 yards short of Dickerson’s record. There were talks of Barkley potentially playing just the first half in Week 18 against the Giants to see how close he could get to the record.
However, the Eagles decided against doing that in favor of resting their key players. As mentioned earlier, the Eagles are not in contention to get the first seed in the playoffs. The Minnesota Vikings (14-2) and Detroit Lions (14-2) will duke it out for that first-round bye, and the Eagles (13-3) do not factor in that race.
With the first four seeds in the NFC all but secured, there’s no reason for Philly to risk injuring one of their stars in favor of a record and with the rushing record out of the picture, Barkley and the Eagles can focus their attention on a potential Super Bowl appearance.
Most of this current team came close to winning it all a few years ago, but ultimately lost to the Kansas City Chiefs, but with a bona-fide star at running back, Philly is hoping that this season will turn out to be different.
