Eric Dickerson doubts Saquon Barkley will break his rushing record

Philadelphia Eagles (12-3) running back Saquon Barkley has two games left to break Eric Dickerson‘s single season rushing record. It would cap off what has been an incredible season so far.

Barkley, in his first year with the Eagles, has 1,838 rushing yards this season. Dickerson rushed for 2,105 yards in 1984, breaking O.J. Simpson‘s record (2,003 yards) which had stood for 11 years. Six tailbacks have rushed for 2,000 yards since Dickerson, but none have been able to surpass his total. Barkley is 268 yards away from eclipsing Dickerson’s mark, but the Pro Football Hall of Famer doesn’t believe Barkley will break it, nor does he want him to.

“I don’t think he’ll break it,” Dickerson 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.”

Dickerson set the record in 16 games. Simpson did it in 14 games before him. Barkley has 17 games to work with, though Dickerson isn’t bothered by that.

“O.J. Simpson was my favorite player,” Dickerson said. “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.”

Will Eagles allow Saquon Barkley to go after Eric Dickerson’s rushing record?

With Philadelphia already guaranteed a playoff spot, it begs the question: Will the Eagles allow Barkley a chance to break the record? Or will they rest their starters, Barkley included, in Week 18 against the New York Giants (2-13).

A Barkley no-show in Week 18 would almost certainly guarantee that Dickerson’s record would stand for at least another year. On the other hand, Barkley breaking the record against the team that decided against re-signing him in the offseason would be a “true slap in the face,” Dickerson said.

“A real team would be like, “Oh no, you ain’t gonna get that record on us.” But how ironic would it be for him to break the record on them, the team that let him go,” Dickerson said. “A true slap in the face.”