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Will Eagles’ Saquon Barkley play Sunday vs Giants for NFL rushing record? Here’s the latest

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3 days ago

January 1, 2025

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Will Eagles’ Saquon Barkley play Sunday vs Giants for NFL rushing record? Here’s the latest

PHILADELPHIA − The intrigue over whether Saquon Barkley will get the chance to break the NFL single-season rushing record has consumed Eagles and NFL fans all week.

Barkley has 2,005 yards rushing this season. He needs 101 yards this Sunday in the season finale against the New York Giants to break Eric Dickerson’s record of 2,105 yards. It’s a record that has stood for 40 years.

But the game is also meaningless for the Eagles, who have clinched the No. 2 seed in the NFC playoff picture. That means they would have to play the following weekend in the Wild Card Round against the No. 7 seed (either Washington or Green Bay). Only the No. 1 seed gets a first-round bye.

So Eagles coach Nick Sirianni has had to weigh resting Barkley and other key players in a pseudo bye versus letting Barkley go for Dickerson’s record.

Sirianni said both after the Eagles’ 41-7 win over the Cowboys on Sunday and again on Monday that he hasn’t made up his mind yet. He added on Monday that he wanted to inform the players first. They were off Monday.

Sirianni has a press conference scheduled for Wednesday afternoon.

In the past, Sirianni has rested players in the finale with nothing at stake. That happened in 2021 when the Eagles were locked into the No. 6 seed as the wildcard. In 2022, Sirianni played the starters against the Giants in order to clinch the No. 1 seed and first-round bye. That strategy worked.

Last season, Sirianni played the starters against the Giants because the Eagles had a chance to win the NFC East while also needing the Cowboys to lose to Washington.

But that decision backfired in two big ways. The first was because the Eagles, in a late-season tailspin, fell behind 24-0 in the first half of a 27-10 loss.

The second was quarterback Jalen Hurts dislocated his finger, and star wide receivers A.J. Brown (knee) and DeVonta Smith (ankle) also suffered injuries. Sirianni pulled the starters by halftime, but it was too late. Brown couldn’t play the following week in the playoffs against the Buccaneers, while Hurts and Smith were clearly limited in the 32-9 loss.

Clearly, an injury to Barkley in a meaningless finale would be devastating to the Eagles’ Super Bowl chances.

“Every year has been a little different,” Sirianni said about his strategy for the finale. “I would say it’s still not a handbook of, ‘Hey, if we’re in this, I’m going to do that,’ and, ‘If we’re in this, we’ll do that.’ Every team is a little bit different. Every year is a little bit different.”

Then again, Barkley should be able to get the record against the Giants, who are 3-13 and ranked 31st in rushing defense, allowing 141.6 yards per game. Barkley, meanwhile, has averaged 125.6 yards rushing per game.

Barkley rushed for 176 yards in the first meeting against the Giants, on Oct. 20. And that was with him sitting out the fourth quarter of a lopsided 28-3 Eagles victory.

What Saquon Barkley is saying about his shot at NFL record

Barkley has repeatedly said that he would love the chance to get the record, but only in the context of helping the Eagles win the Super Bowl.

“Whatever his decision is, I’m all for it,” Barkley said Sunday about Sirianni. “If his mindset is, we’ll go out there and try it, I’ll go out there and try it. But his mindset is, let’s rest and get ready for this run, then I’m all for that too.

“I came here to do something special, and obviously breaking the record is special. But I want a (Super Bowl) banner up there.”

Contact Martin Frank at mfrank@delawareonline.com. Follow on X @Mfranknfl.