Mitchell Leff/Getty Images

Saquon Barkley's Family Not Happy With Eagles' Week 18 Decision

Originally posted on The Spun | By Tzvi Machlin | Last updated Jan 2, 2025 12:15 PM ET

With the Philadelphia Eagles unable to secure a first-round bye in the NFL playoffs, the team is poised to rest its starters in Week 18 - including starting running back Saquon Barkley, who is just 100 yards away from breaking the all-time single-season rushing record.

But while the move makes sense from a football perspective, that doesn't mean that everyone in Barkley's inner circle agrees with the decision from head coach Nick Sirianni. According to Eliot Shorr-Parks of 94WIP.com, Barkley revealed that some members of the family were pretty upset by the news that he would be resting this weekend. Barkley said that his father took the news the hardest and admitted that it would have been nice to have his family's name attached to the single-season rushing record.

"Saquon Barkley says his dad probably took the news the hardest. Says having the family name attached to the record would have been nice," Shorr-Parks wrote.

Saquon Barkley says his dad probably took the news the hardest. Says having the family name attached to the record would have been nice. #Eagles
— Eliot Shorr-Parks (@EliotShorrParks) January 1, 2025

Barkley became just the ninth player in history to rush for over 2,000 yards in a single season, reaching 2,005 yards in Sunday's win over the Dallas Cowboys. He's exactly 100 yards away from breaking Eric Dickerson's 40-year-old record of 2,105 rushing yards in a single season and likely would have gotten it against a New York Giants defense that gives up an average of over 140 rushing yards per game.

Many fans have argued that Barkley doesn't deserve a chance to break the record since NFL seasons are now 17 games long and Dickerson broke the record while playing in a 16-game season.

That argument falls flat on its face when you remember that Dickerson broke the record previously set by O.J. Simpson, who achieved the previous record of 2,003 yards in only 14 games.

So the single-season rushing record will stay safe for another year. Though if the Eagles were fighting for a playoff spot rather than resting players, they certainly would have given Barkley the chance to break it.

Since Dickerson set the record back in 1984, over a half-dozen running backs have come within striking distance of his record. Now that seasons are 17 games long, it seems more likely than ever that the record will fall eventually.

A player needs to average 123.9 yards per game over 17 games to break Dickerson's record.

Are any players in the NFL today going to finally break it?

This article first appeared on The Spun and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: