The NFL watching world has watched in amazement and anticipation as Eagles running back Saquon Barkley continues his seemingly unstoppable run toward breaking Eric Dickerson's single-season rushing record.
That is, everyone except Eric Dickerson.
Dickerson, who played for the Los Angeles Rams in 1984 and set the single-season rushing yards record with 2,105, said in a recent interview. Los Angeles Times He says it's okay as long as the records remain in his possession.
“Do I want him to destroy it? Absolutely not,” Dickerson said. said. “I won't say anything about it. But I'm not whining about it.”
As it stands, Barkley needs 268 yards in the next two games to break the record. Given Philadelphia's final two games against the Cowboys, which are expected to be played at a rain-soaked Lincoln Financial Field, and the final game against the objectively awful, free-playing Giants, has a good chance of defeating it.
But Dickerson doesn't think that's a likely scenario.
“I don't think he's going to break it. But if he's going to break it, he's going to break it,” Dickerson said.
The Rams Hall of Famer pointed to one difference between his record-setting era and today's NFL reality: the 17-game season.
“He had 17 games left? Hey, football is football,” Dickerson said. “That's the way I look at it. If he's lucky enough to get over 2,000 yards, that would be a great record.”
Of course, Barkley and his supporters may refute the fact that Dickerson took the record from OJ Simpson, who set the mark when the league only played 14 games a season.
“[OJ] “Simpson held the rushing record ahead of Dickerson, setting the record with 2,003 yards in 14 games in a 1973 season,” CBS Sports reported. report. “Simpson was the first player to cross the 2,000-yard mark, and it has only happened seven more times since then. In the 30 years since Dickerson set the record, Adrian Peter ran for 2,097 yards in 2012. Son is the only running back to come within 35 yards of Dickerson's record.
Barkley, 27, needs just 162 yards to reach 2,000 yards, and if he accomplishes that, he will become the second player to reach 2,000 yards, behind Barry Sanders, who ran for 2,053 yards at age 29. He's going to be an old player.'' He turned one year old in 1997. ”
The Eagles will play the Cowboys on Sunday at 1pm EST.
