Saquon Barkley eyes NFL rushing record: Nick Sirianni to talk to Eagles brass to determine RB’s Week 18 status

Saquon Barkley is on the doorstep of NFL history. The Philadelphia Eagles back is just 101 rushing yards away from passing Hall of Famer Eric Dickerson for the single-season rushing record. With a game left, it’s very much within Barkley’s range. There’s just one problem. The game means absolutely nothing for Philadelphia, who is already locked in as the No. 2 seed in the NFC. 

This creates quite the predicament for Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni. Does he let Barkley play to go for the record? Or does he hold him out to avoid the possibility of the back suffering an injury, thus hurting Philadelphia’s chances once they begin their playoff run? 

Sirianni remains undecided on which way he’ll end up falling, telling 94 WIP on Tuesday that he plans to seek out essentially everyone within the Eagles organization to see what they think is the right course of action. 

“I’ll talk to our staff, I’ll talk to the players, I’ll talk to (general manager) Howie (Roseman), I’ll talk to (Eagles owner) Mr. (Jeffrey) Lurie,” Sirianni said, via NFL.com. “I’ll talk to everybody to try and make sure I’m making the best decision for the football team.”

Barkley does have an advantageous matchup in more ways than one in Week 18. The back faces a run defense that is surrendering the second-most rushing yards per game (141.6) in the league this season. That defense? The New York Giants — the team Barkley played his entire career with before joining Philadelphia last offseason. 

It sets up quite the narrative for Barkley, especially after he exploded for 176 rushing yards against New York back in Week 7. However, the main goal for the Eagles as an organization is another Super Bowl victory, which Sirianni needs to balance. As he discussed the situation further, Sirianni recalled a moment earlier in his tenure when he let wideout DeVonta Smith play late in the year to allow him the opportunity to break the franchise’s rookie receiving yards record. 

“Everything is taken into account,” Sirianni said. “I’m going to always do what’s best for the team and the individuals going for that. … I’m still thinking through a little bit of this too. … You take a lot into account. What’s the best thing for the team, and then also, what’s the best things for the individuals going for the record?

“If you think back a couple of years ago to 2021, Smitty was going for the rookie receiver record — I think he was going to break DeSean Jackson’s rookie receiving record. Everybody else was resting, but we wanted for everyone else — whatever it was — we didn’t play some other guys in that game, but we went and got him that record. Every situation is a little different. Not saying one way or the other or how that’s going to play out or even that I made a decision yet, but I got to tell the guys first when I do come to that decision, but a lot goes into it.”

After accumulating 167 yards rushing last week against Dallas, Barkley became just the ninth player in league history to top 2,000 yards rushing in a season.