History has been made! It seems like we hear that every week now, right? Thanks to platforms like Next Gen Stats, it feels like we constantly hear about a Philadelphia Eagles star doing something that has never been done on a football field.
Don't read what hasn't been written. We love Next Gen. We're some football nerds, but seriously, things have gotten crazy. Records are being mentioned about everything.
Next, we'll probably hear about (Player X) becoming the first guy to eat two bowls of cereal in a couple of hours. Then, there's the other thing. There's more data now, and the NFL's regular season is longer.
It's for that reason that some think the following. If Saquon Barkley breaks Eric Dickerson's rushing record but it takes him 17 games to do it, the feat won't hold as much merit seeing as how there were only 16 regular-season games when Dickerson played.
We're teasing of course, sort of, but here's a new standard that doesn't need debate. Saquon Barkley set the Eagles' single-season rushing record in 13 games.
Also read: Saquon Barkley sets a new Eagles standard
Eagles Hall of Famer LeSean McCoy happily passes his torch to Saquon Barkley.
Saquon Barkley entered the Eagles' Week 14 game vs. the Carolina Panthers needing 109 yards to eclipse LeSean McCoy's single-season rushing record (1,607 yards). Shady averaged 100.4 yards per game that season. Barkley stacked 124 and etched his name atop Philly's record book.
It was a moment that wasn't lost on our guy Shady!
Big s/o to my boy @saquon on breaking my franchise single season rushing record. Let’s go get that Dickerson record see yall in the N O super bow bound @Eagles pic.twitter.com/SM5SXvyyaV
— LeSean Shady Mccoy (@CutonDime25) December 8, 2024
That's some classy stuff there, but come on. No one is really surprised that he was, right?
Shady's rushing record stood for 11 NFL seasons after he toppled Wilbert Montgomery whose 1,512 rushing yards were the standard from 1979 until 2013.
As we write this, Saquon still has four games remaining in the 2024-25 Eagles season. He'll use those games to build on a franchise record that he now solely owns.
With 1,623 yards on the ledger, Eric Dickerson's NFL record of 2,105 yards is within reach, a record he set in 16 games. Saquon must average 120.7 yards per game to pass the Pro Football Hall of Famer.