Put Saquon Barkley into the NFL history books.
On Sunday, the Philadelphia Eagles running back became the ninth running back in NFL history to reach 2,000 rushing yards in a single season. He reached the milestone in the fourth quarter against the Dallas Cowboys.
A 23-yard run to the Dallas 23 put him at 167 yards for the game and 2,005 for the season. It set up an Eagles touchdown to extend Philadelphia’s lead to 41-7.
Barkley remained on the bench for Philadelphia’s next possession, his day done as the Eagles went on to a 41-7 win to clinch the NFC East.
Eric Dickerson (2,105 yards in 1984), Adrian Peterson (2,097 yards in 2012), Jamal Lewis (2,066 yards in 2003), Barry Sanders (2,053 yards in 1997), Derrick Henry (2,027 yards in 2020), Terrell Davis (2,008 yards in 1998), Chris Johnson (2,006 yards in 2009) and O.J. Simpson (2,003 yards in 1973) are the other running backs with 2,000-yard seasons.
Barkley’s historic revival since joining Eagles
Barkley, 27, has posted sensational seasons before. But he never approached the heights of his debut campaign with the Eagles in his six previous NFL seasons with the New York Giants.
Barkley’s previous career-high rushing total was 1,312 yards in 2022. He averaged 4.4 yards per carry and 82 rushing yards per game that season. As a rookie in 2018, he averaged five yards per carry and 81.7 yards per game en route to 1,307 yards on the ground.
Barkley also saw his share of struggles while playing behind poor offensive lines on a Giants team that’s languished among the league’s worst since he’s been in the NFL. He twice averaged fewer than four yards per carry (3.7 in 2021 and 3.9 in 2023), leading to speculation that he’d lost the explosiveness that made him one of the NFL’s best playmakers early in his career.
But a season playing behind Philadelphia’s stout offensive line proved his doubters wrong. The combination has now produced one of the greatest rushing seasons in NFL history. With Sunday’s total (31 carries for 167 yards), Barkley has averaged 125.3 rushing yards per game on 5.8 yards per carry, by far the best totals of his career.
Will Barkley break Dickerson’s record vs. Giants?
Barkley remains in sight of the league’s single-season rushing record with a week remaining in the regular season. Dickerson holds that record with his 2,105-yard campaign for the Los Angeles Rams in 1984. He achieved that feat in a 16-game season. Barkley trails Dickerson by 100 yards in 16 games played.
It’s not clear if Barkley will play in Week 18 against his former Giants. The Eagles could end up resting key starters with their playoff berth already clinched. But if he does, he’ll have a shot at passing Dickerson in his 17th game of the season.
