Saquon Barkley was honest on Wednesday afternoon. He wanted a shot to break Eric Dickerson’s single-season rushing record in Week 18.
But he’s also at peace with Nick Sirianni’s decision.
The Eagles’ head coach — after consulting with players, coaches, the general manager and the owner — decided to rest his key starters in Week 18 against the Giants in a game that means nothing for the Eagles’ playoff seeding.
And with that, Barkley’s historic pursuit of a 40-year-old record came to an end.
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“He asked me if I wanted to play, if I wanted to go for it,” Barkley said on Wednesday. “I said on Sunday I probably didn’t care too much for it. When I slept on it, it was an opportunity to implant my name in football history. May never get another opportunity like that again so I’m down.
“But at the end of the day, I don’t care for putting the team as risk. He’s the head coach for a reason. He makes the decisions and whatever decision he wanted to make, I let him know if you want me to play, I’m going to go out there and make sure I get it. If we don’t, I’m OK with that too.”
Barkley said part of his change of heart from Sunday into Monday was hearing some of his offensive linemen push for the record. But in this case, the Eagles are prioritizing team health as they get set for what they hope is a long playoff run.
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After Sunday’s win over the Cowboys, Barkley has 2,005 rushing yards on 345 carries. His 2024 regular season will end just 101 yards away from cementing his name in the history books and surpassing Dickerson’s record of 2,105 rushing yards, which was set way back in 1984.
What was Barkley’s reaction to Sirianni’s decision?
“My reaction was kind of like, I told my family, obviously my family probably wanted it a little bit more than me,” Barkley said. “But at the end of the day, the most important thing is winning football games and we’re in the playoffs. I got a bigger goal in mind anyway.”
Barkley on Sunday became just the ninth player in NFL history to rush for over 2,000 yards in a single season, joining Dickerson, Adrian Peterson, Jamal Lewis, Barry Sanders, Derrick Henry, Terrell Davis, Chris Johnson and O.J. Simpson.
While Barkley was honest about wanting to go for the record, he claimed he wasn’t disappointed and even smiled when he heard the question.
“Nah, not disappointment,” Barkley said. “At the end of the day, I’ll have a time, I don’t have time yet, to be able to reflect on this season and I’ve done a lot of great things so far this year. I always hold myself to a standard. I can go back and pick 15 or 20 plays that if I would have done this or made this guy miss, that record would have been broken pretty easy.
“It’s no disappointment. I’m blessed to even be in position to have an opportunity to do it. Like I said, it’s not in God’s plans. But what is in God’s plans is the opportunity to get ready for the playoffs and get myself, not just myself but all the starters, a little break so we can get in the playoffs healthy and go on a run.”
While Sirianni got input from a bunch of different sources, ultimately, the head coach said the decision was his.
And Barkley said he’s actually grateful that it wasn’t up to him.
“I wanted to do it but once I found out that we’re not, it kind of made it easier for me because it’s not my decision. It’s coach’s decision,” he said. “I’m glad that I didn’t have to make that decision. Because, say, if you go out there for a selfish reason and something negative happens and I’m the one that’s out there trying to get the offensive line to go play and beat the record for me, it sounds crazy. Honestly, I’m just happy I didn’t have to make that decision. Nick made it easier on me. I’m truly at peace with it.”
Barkley said his father took it the hardest. Barkley broke the news on Tuesday when his dad called to check up on him and wish him a Happy New Year.
While Barkley understands why his father wanted him to get the record, he said he’ll get over it.
“At the end of the day, the most important thing is winning football games,” Barkley said. “And he’s the one that raised me to be all about the team.”
Barkley admitted it would have been extra special to break the record against his former team, the Giants, but not for the reasons you might think. Despite what happened during this past offseason, Barkley has a lot of respect for the people in that organization, especially his former teammates and the trainers who helped him heal up after injuries. He said they're the reason he's the player he is today.
None of the previous eight players to rush for 2,000 yards in a single season have done it again but Barkley said he sees no reason he can’t be in position to make another run at Dickerson’s record in the future.
For this year, Barkley said, it just wasn’t in God’s plan.
“We didn’t come here and I didn’t sign here to break Eric Dickerson’s record,” Barkley said. “We came here to win a Super Bowl. I think everyone knows that. That’s our goal and what we want to accomplish.”
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