Saquon Barkley Could Break LeSean McCoy's Single-Season Eagles Rushing Record in Week 14

  • Eagles

The Eagles have five games remaining in the 2024 regular season. And Saquon Barkley is already on the doorstep of setting a new single-season rushing record for the Eagles.

After Sunday's win over the Baltimore Ravens, Barkley has 1,499 rushing yards, which are already the third most that an Eagles running back has had in a single season. The two above him are Wilbert Montgomery (1,512 in 1979) and LeSean McCoy (1,607 in 2013). Obviously, they both played in 16-game seasons, as opposed to 17 games now. But if Barkley rushes for 109 yards in Week 14 against the Carolina Panthers, it will have taken him just 13 games to surpass each mark. 

There are even bigger marks in sight for Barkley, whether he pays attention to them or not. 

Eight running backs — Eric Dickerson, Adrian Peterson, Jamal Lewis, Barry Sanders, Derrick Henry, Terrell Davis, Chris Johnson and O.J. Simpson — have rushed for 2,000 yards in a season. Barkley is on pace to become the ninth member of the 2K Club. 

Dickerson set the NFL single-season record with 2,105 rushing yards in 1984. Adrian Peterson came just shy of matching it when he won NFL MVP in 2012, a season that saw him rush for 2,097 rushing yards. As noted by ESPN's Tim McManus and Ben Solak, Barkley is currently on pace for 2,123 rushing yards, which would establish a new record. 

Again, it's worth pointing out that Dickerson and Peterson set their marks in a 16-game season. If Barkley sets a new single-season record, it will come in a 17-game slate, and there's a good chance he'll need all 17 games. With that said, the NFL moved to 17 games in 2021, and in the three prior years of this format, the most rushing yards a player has had are 1,811 by Jonathan Taylor in 2021. Barkley is on pace to leave that mark in the dust. 

Before Barkley approaches the all-time record, though, he'll have to get by the single-season mark for the Eagles. He has a real shot to do that against the Panthers in Week 14. Setting a new franchise rushing record in his first season with a team that began play in 1933 would be quite the flex. 


author

Tim Kelly

Tim Kelly is the Managing Editor for On Pattison. He's been on the Phillies beat since 2020. Kelly is also on Bleacher Report's MLB staff. Previously, Kelly has worked for Phillies Nation, Audacy Sports, SportsRadio 94 WIP, Just Baseball, FanSided, Locked On and Sports Illustrated/FanNation. Kelly is a graduate of Bloomsburg University with a major in Mass Communications and minor in Political Science.