Saquon Barkley was a man on a mission in his first year with the Philadelphia Eagles in 2024. The New York Giants didn’t think an RB was worth $15 million a year, so they let him walk. Saquon then channeled his inner Usher and said, ‘Okay, watch this.’ He promptly rushed for 2,005 yards and was a catalyst for Philly’s Super Bowl win, earning himself a shiny new deal that pays him over $20 million a year. Eat your heart out, Joe Schoen!
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Barkley was on such a roll that he very realistically could have broken Eric Dickerson’s 40-year-old single-season rushing record of 2,105 yards if he’d played all 17 games. Seemingly, everyone was pushing and hoping for Barkley to eclipse a record previously thought to be untouchable—that is, everyone except his own team and the record holder himself.
The Eagles had the No. 2 seed locked up by Week 18, so they sat Barkley despite him needing just 101 yards to set a new record (he’d had 11 games with over 101 yards). When Barkley accepted that he would not get a chance to go for the record—against his hated Giants no less—Eagles brass and Dickerson breathed a collective sigh of relief. Philly would go on to win a Super Bowl thanks to a healthy Barkley, and Dickerson remained atop the mountaintop.
As All-Pro Amon-Ra St. Brown recently said on his podcast, the Hall of Famer was no doubt locked in on Barkley’s excellent campaign, just hoping that he wouldn’t make it to 2,106.
Both Amon-Ra and his brother Equanimeous also admitted that Barkley was a better man than them, as they would have certainly pushed to play for the record in Week 18.
“You know Eric Dickerson was sweating in his boots,” remarked Equanimeous.
And Amon-Ra said in response, “I know he watched every game like f***ing hoping he didn’t break it.”
“And people were like, ‘You should want someone to break your record.’ No, if you have a record, you don’t want anyone to break it ever,” Equanimeous continued.
Dickerson told the L.A. Times just a few weeks before the end of the season that he didn’t think Barkley would break his sterling 2,105-yard mark. He was also brutally honest in saying that, like the St. Brown brothers, he liked having the record to himself.
“I don’t think he’ll break it. But if he breaks it, he breaks it. Do I want him to break it? Absolutely not. I don’t pull no punches on that. But I’m not whining about it. He had 17 games to do it? Hey, football is football. That’s the way I look at it. If he’s fortunate to get over 2,000 yards and get the record, it’s a great record to have.”
Barkley didn’t break Dickerson’s record. However, he did rush for 2,000 yards, earn Offensive Player of the Year, escape the dungeons of the New York Football Giants, and win Super Bowl 59. Not to mention that new two-year, $41 million extension that makes him the highest-paid running back of all time. Not too shabby of a year for Barkley all around.
Who's 2k season was more impressive? The Rec Spec God or the Reverse Hurdler? pic.twitter.com/XczpmDQ3tr
— Bob Sacamano (@dremurray3) March 5, 2025
But even with all of those accolades and honors and acclaim, Barkley still missed out on real history. As the St. Brown brothers said, who knows if he’ll ever get the opportunity to come that close again. No player has ever rushed for 2,000 yards in more than one season… But maybe the $20 million man can do it?
