This may sound asinine to some and crazy to others, but hey. edgy is what we do here. We only needed to see Saquon Barkley play in a Philadelphia Eagles jersey three times to make what might be the boldest of claims.
Saquon might establish himself as the greatest running back to ever don the Midnight or Kelly Green. Yep! That's what we said!
For an organization home to Wilbert Montgomery, Brian Westbrook, LeSean McCoy, and Steve Van Buren, that's a mouthful. But, think about it... He has everything that Shady had, and he broke Shady's single-season franchise rushing record. Then, for good measure, he added his name to the 2,000-yard club and placed Eric Dickerson's single-season rushing record in his sights.
We all realize he did all of that in year one, right? At the time of this story's release, there's still a game to be played in the regular season. Once we conquer that one, there's the postseason to discuss. Conversations about 26 and his star status might reach supernova!
Saquon Barkley joins another 2,000-yard club, one of a different sort.
Joining the 2,000-yard club is no small feat. Thousands of deserving men have played the running back position at football's hughest level. Nine have rushed for 2,000 yards or more during a single season.
- O.J. Simpson (1973)
- Eric Dickerson (1984)
- Barry Sanders (1997)
- Terrell Davis (1998)
- Jamal Lewis (2003)
- Chris Johnson (2009)
- Adrian Peterson (2012)
- Derrick Henry (2020)
- Saquon Barkley (2024)
Something crossed our minds after Sunday. 'Go look up his all-purpose yardage total'. That's what we told ourselves. As we were doing so, the Eagles social media team shared the following, another milestone in a season that has been full of them.
When the bar is set high, raise it even higher.
— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) December 30, 2024
Another franchise record for @saquon 👏@firstrustbank | #FlyEaglesFly pic.twitter.com/C00sUBkTpV
Saquon's 2,283 scrimmage yards are the most by any Eagle in franchise history. It also places him in even rarer air. Only three other tailbacks have produced 2,000 all-purpose yards or more in a single season as members of two different franchises.
Here's the list:
- Eric Dickerson (L.A. Rams, Indianapolis Colts)
- Marshall Faulk (Colts, St. Louis Rams)
- Christian McCaffrey (Carolina Panthers, S.F. 49ers)
- Saquon Barkley (New York Giants, Eagles)
We mentioned Saquon might go down as the best back in Eagles history, right?
Seeing the run he has been on this season forces us to ask a question. What if he had played for a better franchise? He's one of the best talents at tailback that we have seen. We truly believe he'd be great in every NFL era.
His story in Philly is still being written, and if we need to say, you're damn right. He has earned our MVP vote.
Keep watching ladies and gentlemen, his journey in the City of Brotherly Love is just getting started. What might he have accomplished by the time he is done playing here?