Eric Dickerson does not want Saquon Barkley to break his NFL rushing record. However, he is willing to acknowledge the record as it stands should the Philadelphia Eagles running back surpass his mark because he knows deep down it isn’t real anyway.
The Pro Football Hall of Famer is not ignorant to the amount of regular season games in 1973, 1984 and 2024.
Dickerson ran for 2,105 yards during his second year with the Los Angeles Rams. The No. 2 overall pick averaged 5.6 yards per carry on 379 attempts with 14 touchdowns in 16 regular season games, which is a single-season record that still stands today. Nobody in NFL history has run for more yards in one year.
Barkley is getting close. Philadelphia’s superstar ball-carrier ran for 1,838 yards on 314 carries through his first 15 games with the Eagles. He is 267 yards away from Dickerson’s record with two games left. Should the 27-year-old average 133.5 yards per game against the Cowboys and Giants, Barkley will claim the top spot in the NFL record books.
Dickerson told the L.A. Times that he doesn’t want to lose his record and doesn’t think it will happen.
I don’t think he’ll break it. 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.
— Eric Dickerson
With that being said, the 64-year-old legend is not going to throw a tantrum if Barkley does get it done.
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.
— Eric Dickerson
Dickerson’s comment about the amount of games is the largest point of contention surrounding this record. He went for 2,105 yards during a 16-game regular season. Barkley is playing a 17-game season.
If Saquon Barkley breaks Dickerson’s record with one additional game, should it count? Eric Dickerson thinks it should because he did the exact same thing to O.J. Simpson, who previously held the record after he ran for 2,003 yards in only 14 regular season games in 1973.
Dickerson acknowledges Simpson’s record as well as his own.
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. Getting to 2,000 is an accomplishment in itself. I got close to that three other times.
— Erick Dickerson
Saquon Barkley can become the ninth player in NFL history to run for 2,000 yards or more with 81 yards per game over the next two games. The other eight are Adrian Peterson, Jamal Lewis, Barry Sanders, Derrick Henry, Terrell Davis, Chris Johnson, Simpson and Dickerson.
He did not even come close to the 2,000-yard mark through 14 games. O.J. Simpson surpassed it! That’s the real record.