‘Should Saquon Barkley Play in Week 18?’ Is a Gift to Sports Radio

Should Saquon Barkley play in Week 18 in pursuit of the single-season rushing record even though the Eagles have nothing to play for? It's the type of topic a sports radio host dreams of. You can get a whole week out of it, and there are legitimate arguments to be made on both sides.

Let's start with this — the Eagles, by virtue of the Minnesota Vikings defeating the Green Bay Packers Sunday, are locked into the No. 2 seed in the NFC playoffs. The No. 1 seed, which comes with a first-round bye and home-field advantage throughout the postseason, will go to either the Vikings or Detroit Lions, who will play in Week 18. So the Eagles as a team can't gain anything by defeating the New York Giants, and will still be the No. 2 seed in the unlikely event they tie or lose to their division rivals.

2K for Saquon pic.twitter.com/WpgnNOfNbg

— On Pattison (@OnPattison) December 29, 2024

But there is the argument that you have to chase history. After rushing for 167 yards in Sunday's win over the Dallas Cowboys, Barkley needs just 101 rushing yards in Week 18 to set the NFL single-season rushing record. He would break Eric Dickerson's record, which has stood since 1984. It would feel wrong not to chase that, especially given the chance it stands for an extended period. 

At the same time, there will be those who put an asterisk next to the record if Barkley gets it, because he will have done it over 17 games, as opposed to 16 from Dickerson. With it feeling like it's a matter of when not if the league adds an 18th regular season game, the chances of Barkley holding the record for 40 years like Dickerson has would seem to be slim. 

Then again, this is the fourth season of the 17-game slate. Barkley has 2,005 rushing yards. The most anyone had previously under the 17-game season was the 1,811 yards that Jonathan Taylor of the Indianapolis Colts rushed for in 2021. Most teams utilize multiple running backs today, and if the season gets longer, having multiple backs capable of carrying the load will become even more important. And the chance for one player to rush for 2,000+ yards — let alone break a new rushing record — could actually decrease. 

If the holdup is whether it's worth Barkley chasing the record because it might not stand for a long time anyway, that's not a good enough reason. It might not even be accurate. 

However, it's hard to argue with anyone who points to Barkley having carried the ball 345 times this season, an NFL high, as a reason he should get a blow in Week 18. The Eagles won't have a first-round bye, meaning they will need to win another month's worth of games to earn the franchise's second Super Bowl title. And having Barkley be fresh heading into the postseason would help to increase those chances. 

The nightmare scenario is that Barkley gets hurt in Week 18 chasing the record and is unavailable a week later when the postseason begins. The guess here is that will likely lead to Barkley being rested in Week 18. 

A video went viral of Barkley passing up the opportunity to break his own single-game rushing record back in Week 7 against the Giants. It would hardly be surprising if Barkley takes a similar approach here if Nick Sirianni let's him decide how to proceed in Week 18. He could rest in Week 18 knowing that he's already become the ninth player in NFL history to rush for 2,000 yards in a season, and is probably going to win Offensive Player of the Year: 

Saquon Barkley wanted the young guys to play instead of going for his record. What a teammate. @saquon | #FlyEaglesFly pic.twitter.com/tJi8waO7MY

— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) October 21, 2024

Still, chances to set records like this don't come around often. Even if the Eagles don't have anything to play for in Week 18, there's definitely a case to be made for playing him and taking a quarter by quarter approach. If Barkley has 12 rushing yards at halftime, maybe you wave the white flag. But if he has 80 rushing yards at the half, maybe you push the pedal and try to make history. 

Whatever decision Barkley and the Eagles make, you can expect to hear about it Monday-Saturday on sports radio because it's a fun discussion.