Saquon Barkley won’t play Sunday vs. New York Giants

The Philadelphia Eagles, headed into the NFC playoffs and locked into the No. 2 seed, will rest Saquon Barkley and other starters on Sunday against the New York Giants.

That means that Barkley will fall short of Eric Dickerson’s single-season rushing record. The former Giant has 2,005 rushing yards, the ninth player in NFL history to hit that mark. He is 101 yards short of the mark of 2,105 yards that Dickerson set in 1984, 40 seasons ago.

Not having Barkley set the rushing record against them is thus one embarrassment the 3-13 Giants won’t have to face in the season finale.

Here is more from Eagles coach Nick Sirianni on not playing Barkley:

“It’s a very special record that’s been standing for a very long time by a great player. … But you try to do what’s best for the team. When the bye was, how goes are feeling. … Our goals are to have success and play good the next game we play.”

Philadelphia’s starting quarterback, Jalen Hurts, remains in the concussion protocol and is also expected to sit out the game vs. New York.

The Giants are only 3-point underdogs against the NFC East champion Eagles, a line that may shift even further toward New York now that we know the Eagles won’t play front-line starters.

The Giants hold the No. 4 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. A win over Philadelphia would likely drop them further, complicating an expected effort to get a new franchise quarterback.