Saquon Barkley on pace to break Eric Dickerson’s record, and faces bad run defenses ahead

Eagles running back Saquon Barkley is on pace to break the NFL’s single-season rushing record. And he will benefit from facing a soft schedule of run defenses the rest of the way.

Barkley has 1,499 rushing yards through 12 games this season. That puts him on pace to gain 2,124 yards in a 17-game season. The NFL record is 2,105 yards, set by Eric Dickerson in 1984. (In a 16-game season). If Barkley keeps gaining yardage at the same pace he has for his first 12 games as an Eagle, he’ll break the record.

But Barkley has a great chance of actually stepping up his rushing output, thanks to the Eagles’ remaining schedule.

On Sunday, the Eagles face the Panthers, whose defense is allowing an NFL-worst 166.8 rushing yards per game. Barkley should feast against Carolina.

After that, Barkley has to face the Steelers, who at 90.5 rushing yards allowed per game are the fourth-best in the NFL. But that’s the only tough remaining game on the schedule.

In the final three weeks the Eagles face their three division opponents: the Cowboys (who are allowing 147.6 rushing yards per game, making them the second-worst run defense in the NFL), the Giants (allowing 145.8 rushing yards per game, fourth-worst in the NFL), the Commanders (allowing 137.0 rushing yards per game, sixth-worst in the NFL).

Barkley has already faced all three divisional opponents once this season, and he totaled 388 rushing yards in those three games — and in two of those three games he went to the bench early because the Eagles were winning blowouts.

With five games remaining, Barkley has an excellent chance to take from Dickerson what Dickerson took from O.J. Simpson, and become the NFL’s all-time single-season rushing champion.