What Saquon Barkley will need to break Eric Dickerson’s single-season NFL rushing record

What Saquon Barkley will need to break Eric Dickerson’s single-season NFL rushing record

Saquon Barkley is on the edge of history.

Barkley exploded on Sunday as his Philadelphia Eagles defeated the Dallas Cowboys 41-7. The star running back rushed for 167 yards on 31 carries, giving him more than 2,000 rushing yards this season. He became just the ninth player in NFL history to accomplish the feat, and he still has a week left.

The Eagles are 13-3 and will face the lowly New York Giants in Week 18, who happen to be the team that gave Barkley an exit in the offseason. It seems like there is enough motivation to have a big game.

Eric Dickerson set the NFL single-season rushing record as a member of the Los Angeles Rams in 1984. He had 2,105 yards this season. This mark could be broken next week.

In 16 games, Barkley recorded 345 carries for 2,005 yards and 13 touchdowns. That means next week he only needs 100 rushing yards to break Dickerson’s record and 101 yards to break it.

PLAYER

YEAR

RUSH YDS

Eric Dickerson

1984

2,105

Adrian Peterson

2012

2,097

Jamal Lewis

2003

2,066

Barry Sanders

1997

2,053

Derrick Henry

2020

2,027

Terrell Davis

1998

2,008

Chris Johnson

2009

2,006

Saquon Barkley*

2024

2,005*

OJ Simpson

1973

2,003

For comparison, Barkley has rushed for more than 100 yards 11 times this season, and the Giants have one of the worst rushing defenses in the NFL.

If Barkley plays in Week 18, there’s a good chance Dickerson’s record will go down. He currently has the eighth-highest single-season rushing total of all time, just ahead of OJ Simpson’s 2,003 yards in 1973 and one spot behind the 2,006 yards achieved by Chris Johnson in 2009.

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