NEW ORLEANS — Saquon Barkley didn’t break the single-season rushing record, sitting out the final game of the regular season and finishing 101 yards shy of Eric Dickerson’s 40-year mark.
Yet Barkley had another number in mind that he could surpass: 2,476.
That’s the amount of rushing yards Terrell Davis rushed for in 1998, when the Denver Broncos captured the Super Bowl title. Davis had 2,008 rushing yards in the regular season and 468 in the playoffs, as the 2,476 rushing yards are the most for any player in a season in NFL history.
Barkley knew he had a shot at that record if things went the way he planned. And the Eagles advanced to the Super Bowl largely due to the performance of Barkley. He has 442 rushing yards in three postseason games (100+ in each game) added to the 2,005 he totaled in the regular season.
With Super Bowl LIX looming, Barkley has 2,047 rushing yards — 30 shy of passing Davis for the all-time mark. The record is there for the taking, but the Vince Lombardi Trophy is what Barkley really wants. The record is the cherry on top.
“That’s the most important part, right? The fact I’m so close to breaking all these records, but none of this matters now unless we win the Super Bowl,” Barkley said. “If I’m able to do all this, man it would be super special. Makes it extra special for what we were able to accomplish as a team.”
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Barkley is in the midst of potentially the greatest season for any player in NFL history — certainly for a running back if the Eagles win the Super Bowl. Davis had the greatest season out of anyone in NFL history, as he was dominant from start to finish in 1998. The league MVP that season, Davis led the league in rushing yards (2,008), rushing touchdowns (21) and yards per carry (5.1). He was the fourth player to rush for 2,000 yards in a season while also winning Offensive Player of the Year honors.
The playoffs was where Davis went to another level. He rushed for 468 yards and three touchdowns in three games, averaging 6.0 yards per carry and 156.0 rushing yards per game — the latter of which was an NFL record. Davis set the NFL record for rushing yards in a season (2,476, including playoffs) and yards from scrimmage in a season (2,762, including playoffs) and rushed for 100-plus yards 14 times in that 1998 season.
Davis had 100-plus yards in all three postseason games, too, and was the best player on the Super Bowl XXXIII championship team. His running back records from 1998 still stand to this day, but Barkley is close to setting the standard for a player at his position.
He has seven touchdown runs of 60-plus yards this season (including playoffs), an NFL record for a season and three more than the next-highest player. Three touchdown runs of 60-plus yards have come in the postseason, a feat no other player has accomplished in his entire playoff career.
Barkley also has 2,760 yards from scrimmage, three shy of passing Davis for most in a season in league history (including playoffs). Barkley and Davis are the only players in NFL history to have 400-plus rushing yards and five-plus rushing touchdowns in a single postseason. Barkley is also 138 yards away from passing Darren Sproles (2,897) for most all-purpose yards in a single season (including playoffs).
For someone who studies the history of the game and the importance of preserving that history, Barkley is honored to be considered amongst the greats.
“Depends how you look at it, right?,” Barkley said. “I think Barry [Sanders] is the best running back of all-time with the ball in his hand. I think the most complete back is Walter [Payton]. Marshall [Faulk] may be the most versatile back. But then the most accomplished is Emmitt [Smith], Terrell [Davis] or ED [Eric Dickerson]. There are so many ways you can look at it.
“I think it’s an honor for me to be even mentioned in the same category as those guys within a season. Hopefully I’ll continue to have this level of play for the rest of my career.”
