The Philadelphia Eagles wrapped up the NFC East title on Sunday afternoon by doing a managed demolition of the Dallas Cowboys, 41-7, and with the Minnesota Vikings outlasting the Inexperienced Bay Packers afterward Sunday, the Birds are actually locked in to the second seed within the NFC.
Had the Packers pulled off the comeback, the Birds would nonetheless have wanted the Lions to lose on the 49ers on Sunday Night time Soccer later tonight, lose at dwelling in opposition to the Vikings subsequent weekend, AND choose up a win themselves at dwelling in opposition to the hapless New York Giants for the 1-seed however alas, that dream is lifeless.
Nevertheless, the massive query heading into the ultimate week continues to be: ought to star operating again Saquon Barkley play, probably risking harm, and chase the single-season dashing report? After gaining 167 yards on the bottom in opposition to Dallas in Week 17, Barkley sits a mere 101 yards shy of breaking Eric Dickerson’s report of two,105 yards set again in 1984.
Early within the fourth quarter in opposition to Dallas, Barkley reduce off the left facet of the Philadelphia offensive line and sprinted down the sideline to interrupt 2,000 yards on the season.
Barkley at present sits in eighth place on the single-season dashing listing behind a who’s who of Operating Again Royalty:
Eric Dickerson, 2,105 yards, 1984, LA Rams
Adrian Peterson, 2,097 yards, 2012, Minnesota Vikings
Jamal Lewis, 2,066 yards, 2003, Baltimore Ravens
Barry Sanders, 2,053 yards, 1997, Detroit Lions
Derrick Henry, 2,027 yards, 2020, Tennessee Titans
Terrell Davis, 2,008 yards, 1998, Denver Broncos
Chris Johnson, 2,006 yards, 2009, Tennessee Titans
SAQUON BARKLEY, 2,005 YARDS, 2024, PHILADELPHIA EAGLES
O.J. Simpson, 2,003 yards, 1973, Buffalo Payments
Earl Campbell, 1,934 yards, 1980, Houston Oilers
Barkley, the NFL’s main rusher in 2024, is averaging 131.6 yards per sport this 12 months so, hypothetically, he wouldn’t even have to play the entire sport to interrupt the report. Actually value noting for the needs of the report: Dickerson set his report in 16 video games whereas Simpson set his in solely 14. Barkley, if he performs, may have had 17 contests to build up his dashing whole.
Dickerson is on report saying he doesn’t even need Barkley to grow to be the NFL’s single-season dashing champion, telling Sam Farmer of the Los Angeles Instances:
“I don’t assume he’ll break it. But when he breaks it, he breaks it. Do I need him to interrupt it? Completely not. I don’t pull no punches on that. However I’m not whining about it. He had 17 video games to do it? Hey, soccer is soccer. That’s the way in which I have a look at it. If he’s lucky to recover from 2,000 yards and get the report, it’s an awesome report to have.”
So, Eagles followers, what do you assume? Now that Philadelphia has no seeding-related causes to play their starters ought to Barkley go well with up in Week 18 or not?
