While most have been debating the resumes of Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson, Saquon Barkley has quietly topped 2,000 rushing yards in just 16 games. He now sits at 2,005 yards with one game to go. That’s just 101 from breaking Eric Dickerson’s 2,105-yard single-season rushing record, set in 1984. While the Eagles might not have a ton to play for, Mark Schlereth believes they should still allow Barkley to try for the record in Week 18.
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Barkley’s 2k season is all the rage across NFL media on Monday morning, and Schlereth is no exception. The man they call “Stink” believes that the Eagles should allow the star RB to decide how “important” this record is to him, and make the call based on that. Schlereth also spoke about how much the record means not just to Barkley, but to the whole team—especially the offensive line.
“They go to Saquon and say, ‘Hey man, is this important to you? Because if it’s important to you, it’s important to us.’ … And if you watch him go over 2,000… you watch the celebration. The guys are so excited about Saquon going over 2,000. The congratulations afterwards. Jeff Stoutland, the offensive line coach, just going nuts after he gets that record. I’ll be surprised if they don’t give him a chance in the first half. “
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While most people view the 2,000-yard rushing season as a running back achievement, that’s not how they see it. The rest of the team was all part of putting him in that position, and the offensive line especially so. No doubt Barkley will be gifting his offensive linemen—at least three of which should be making Pro Bowls this year—something sick after the season.
Should the Eagles let Saquon Barkley chase the record?
Schlereth compared Barkley’s potential experience in Week 18 with his own experience playing for the Denver Broncos with Terrell Davis in 1998.
Davis needed 177 yards to eclipse 2,000 in the final game of the season. Denver had already secured their playoff seeding, so they had nothing to play for. However, the whole team wanted that record for Davis—who was dealing with a rib issue during the game—and they got it for him. He finished the campaign on 2,008 yards, the 3rd-most in a single season at the time.
“In the game that Terrell Davis, he had to get 177 yards against the Seattle Seahawks to go over 2,000. That was it. And he had a rib injury. And damn it, we’re getting him that. Now, we had the bye coming up to rest. But it mattered to us. Like, I’m not going to the Hall of Fame. But there’s a part of me part in that record. And Terrell will tell you, you own that. Like, I’m not there without you. And so, there’s a connection there.”
There are a lot of parallels here. They don’t have a first-round bye like those 1998 Broncos, but the Philadelphia Eagles have secured the No. 2 seed. They can’t go any lower, and if the Detroit Lions win on MNF, they can’t go up either.
So, the risk of “avoidable” injury is there. But how do you weigh that against what Barkley could potentially achieve in Week 18? Not only does he only need just 101 yards—a mark he has topped 11 times this season, including in six of his last seven games—but he could get the record playing against the team that gave up on him: the New York Giants.
No doubt Saquon Barkley had these Giants games circled on his calendar once he joined the Eagles. He put up 176 on 17 carries against his former employer earlier this season. The Giants have continued to struggle against the run since then. They just gave up 100+ to Jonathan Taylor on Sunday and they’ve allowed the 2nd-most rushing yards all year.
As Schlereth suggested, Barkley should at least get a chance in the first half. If he does get a shot, we don’t see any possible way he won’t eclipse the record while playing with that chip on his shoulder against his old team in his new city.
