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On Sunday afternoon, Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley rushed for 167 yards in a 41-7 victory over the Dallas Cowboys. On his final attempt of the day, a 23-yard scamper off left tackle early in the 4th quarter, Barkley became the 9th player in NFL history to reach the 2,000 mark. This run not only legitimized Barkley's MVP candidacy in a very serious way, but it also set the stage for a Week 18 moment where, in his home state, against his former team, Barkley could make NFL history.
However, with the Eagles having nothing to play for in Week 18 — Philadelphia is officially locked in as the 2-seed in the NFC — it raises a question that talking heads will be debating on TV for the next 72-96 hours… should Saquon Barkley play in Philly's regular-season finale.
Now, surely, you will hear impassioned pleas by pundits on both sides of the aisle who feel strongly that they know best what both Barkley and the Eagles should do. I, too, have my own opinion — we'll get there — but the fact of the matter is, nobody within the Eagles organization is going to take the time to listen to what anyone outside of the organization has to say. They'll make the decision they feel is best, and according to NFL insider Adam Schefter, that decision may have already been made.
“I don't care how close he is to Eric Dickerson's record,” Schefter said during an appearance on The Pat McAfee Show. “The Eagles are not going to have a bye. I think Saquon is going to be put in bubble wrap next week. And then he'll be unwrapped for the Wild Card game.”
Admittedly, I am not as plugged in or as experienced in covering this sport as Adam Schefter. With that said, I'm stunned by the fact that, as it looks right now, Barkley won't be suiting up on Sunday to pursue Dickerson's record. And sure, maybe 2,000 yards was the impressive benchmark that both Barkley and the Eagles wanted to reach, but when Barkley came out of Sunday's game, my assumption was it was because the Eagles were up by four touchdowns at the time, not because his entire season was over.
It's also worth noting that the character and desires of Saquon Barkley will likely play a role in whether he'll play this Sunday against the Giants. One would assume that if he felt strongly about taking a run at the record, the Eagles would at least hear him out. However, according to Schefter, the 27-year-old running back isn't the kind of guy who is going to put team success at risk for the pursuit of individual accolades.
“That's not the way he thinks,” Schefter stated. “That's not the way he's wired. He doesn't care. His mindset is on getting a Super Bowl, not breaking another record.”
At the time of this writing, Philadelphia has the fifth-best odds (+750) to win Super Bowl 59, according to FanDuel Sportsbook. That would likely change drastically if Barkley were to suffer an injury in the final game of the season.
