Eric Dickerson set the NFL's single-season rushing record of 2,105 yards in 1984. He doesn't see Saquon Barkley blasting past him this year.
"I don't think he'll break it," the former Rams running back told Sam Farmer of the Los Angeles Times. "But if he breaks it, he breaks it. Do I want him to break it? Absolutely not. I don't pull no punches on that. But I'm not whining about it. He had 17 games to do it? Hey, football is football. That's the way I look at it. If he's fortunate to get over 2,000 yards and get the record, it's a great record to have."
With 1,838 rushing yards, Barkley is 268 away from breaking Dickerson's record. The Eagles back needs to average 134.0 rush yards per game over his remaining two tilts to break the record.
If Barkley comes close in Week 18, much will be made about the extra 17th game played compared to the 16 Dickerson did it in. The former Ram isn't concerned about that, noting that he had two additional games to pass O.J. Simpson, who went for 2,003 yards in 14 contests.
"O.J. Simpson was my favorite player," Dickerson told Farmer. "He went over 2,000 yards in 14 games. It took me 15 games to get to 2,000. I had one extra game to play. Getting to 2,000 is an accomplishment in itself. I got close to that three other times."
Eight backs have passed the 2,000-yard barrier: Dickerson (2,105), Adrian Peterson (2,097), Jamal Lewis (2,066), Barry Sanders (2,053), Derrick Henry (2,027), Terrell Davis (2,008), Chris Johnson (2,006) and Simpson (2,003).
Dickerson noted that he's not surprised that Barkley is gobbling up more yards after moving from New York to Philly, where the offensive line play is much better.
"I like him. But I tend to like big backs. He's not a big back like I was," Dickerson said of Barkley. "He's elusive, he's tough, he runs hard, he can catch the ball out of the backfield. I think he's a great player. I always felt like he'd never reach his potential when he was in New York. You could take Emmitt Smith and put him in Cleveland, and he'd have never been the Emmitt Smith we know now.
"Even myself. If you'd have put me in Cincinnati on a bad team, I'd have never been that guy. Because these bad football teams with no blocking, I don't care how great you are. If you don't have the guys in front of you, you can't do it."
The Eagles, who could be without Jalen Hurts (concussion) Sunday against Dallas, are in an interesting spot when it comes to Barkley chasing the record. Last week's loss nearly locks them into the No. 2 seed in the NFC. Next Gen Stats gives them a 94% chance to be the No. 2 seed and just a 4% chance to be the No. 1 seed; still not NFC East champions, Philly also has a 1% chance to be either the sixth or seventh seed.
Given that they likely won't move their seeding, the Eagles could rest many starters in Week 18, including Barkley, who leads the NFL in carries (314). That scenario could ensure Dickerson holds onto his record for another year.
