Saquon Barkley Asked for Chance to Break Rushing Record in Week 18

The Eagles running back had his sights set on Eric Dickerson's rushing record in the final week of the regular season.

Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley had his sights set on Eric Dickerson's rushing record in Week 18. / Stephen Lew-Imagn Images

The Philadelphia Eagles captured Super Bowl LIX on Sunday night, defeating the Kansas City Chiefs, 40-22, to deny Patrick Mahomes & Co. a three-peat.

The Eagles could not have had a Super Bowl-winning season without the play of Saquon Barkley, whose tremendous first year in a Philadelphia uniform earned him NFL Offensive Player of the Year honors.

So it makes all the sense in the world that Eagles coach Nick Sirianni wanted Barkley rested for the postseason run when he was a healthy scratch in Week 18 of the regular season, despite being in shouting distance of Eric Dickerson's NFL rushing record of 2,105 yards that was set in the 1984 season.

The Eagles were locked into the No. 2 seed regardless of what happened in the final week of the regular season, so all that was left to play for was Barkley's record.

Barkley told Sports Illustrated's Greg Bishop that he had every intention of going for the record after speaking with family, friends, and of course, his offensive line. When Sirianni asked Barkley if he had a preference, the star running back was honest.

"I want it. I want to break the record," Barkley told Sirianni.

Sirianni ultimately disagreed, and Barkley immediately moved on. Barkley understood Sirianni's decision to rest him, as the Eagles had much bigger things to play for.

And the decision to keep Barkley healthy culminated in a Super Bowl title.

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