Eric Dickerson doubts Saquon Barkley breaks his single-season rushing record

Eric Dickerson broke the NFL’s single-season rushing record 13 years before Saquon Barkley was born when Dickerson rushed for 2,105 yards with the Rams in 1984.

Barkley is 268 yards from breaking Dickerson’s record with two games remaining.

The Eagles play the Cowboys and the Giants to close out the season, but if they win Sunday, it would seem likely Nick Sirianni will choose to rest most of his starters in Week 18.

“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 his record in 16 games. The NFL now plays a 17-game schedule.

Dickerson seems unbothered by the fact Barkley could break his record with an extra game. As Dickerson points out, O.J. Simpson needed only 14 games to became the NFL’s first 2,000-yard rusher when he ran for 2,003 yards in 1973.

“O.J. Simpson was my favorite player. 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,” Dickerson said. “Getting to 2,000 is an accomplishment in itself. I got close to that three other times.”

Besides Simpson and Dickerson, Adrian Peterson (2,097 with Minnesota in 2012), Jamal Lewis (2,066 with Baltimore in 2003), Barry Sanders (2,053 with Detroit in 1997), Derrick Henry (2027 with Tennessee in 2020), Terrell Davis (2,008 with Denver in 1998) and Chris Johnson (2,006 with Tennessee in 2009) are the only other backs to top 2,000 yards.