LANDOVER, Md. -- Saquon Barkley is in the midst of one of the greatest seasons for a running back in NFL history, even if the Philadelphia Eagles star is currently set to fall just short of Eric Dickerson's single-season yardage mark.
Barkley finished with 29 carries for 150 yards and a touchdown in the Eagles' loss to the Commanders on Sunday, giving him 1,838 rushing yards for the season through 15 games. He is 268 yards away from passing Dickerson for the single-season mark (2,105) and 162 away from becoming the ninth player in NFL history with 2,000 rushing yards in a season.
The Eagles have two games remaining, and are still in the hunt for home-field advantage and the No.1 seed in the NFC. They have also not clinched the NFC East title yet, so Barkley will still be playing meaningful football games for at least one more week. Barkley is currently averaging 122.5 rushing yards per game this season, putting him on pace for 2,083 rushing yards for the year.
Most rushing yards in season -- NFL history
| Player | Yards | Year |
|---|---|---|
Eric Dickerson (Rams) | 2,105 | 1984 |
2,097 | 2012 | |
Saquon Barkley's pace (Eagles) | 2,083 | 2024 |
Barkley had a 68-yard touchdown run in the first quarter of Sunday's loss, having seven carries for 109 yards and two scores in the first quarter of the game. The 68-yard run was Barkley's fourth touchdown run of 60+ yards this season, tied for the most in NFL history (with Adrian Peterson in 2012 and Jim Brown in 1963).
Even with Barkley's first quarter, he finished with 22 carries for 41 yards in the final three quarters -- averaging just 1.9 yards per carry. The Eagles were without Jalen Hurts after 11 plays, as the quarterback was ruled out with a concussion. Barkley admitted the run game was affected with Hurts' absence.
"They loaded the box, but we get it each week. The dynamic of Jalen definitely helps," Barkley said. " A lot of things we do in our run game is designed with Jalen. It's kind of hard to continue to run the same stuff when he's not in there. We just didn't make the plays."
Barkley will need to average 134 rushing yards a game to pass Dickerson, but just 81 yards per game to get to 2,000. He still is within striking distance of Dickerson's mark in the home stretch of the season.
