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Eric Dickerson signed a one-day contract in 2017 so he could retire as a Los Angeles Ram. (Greg Beacham / Associated Press)
The NFL single-season rushing record has stood for 40 years, far longer than Saquon Barkley has been on this planet.
But now, with two games to play, the Philadelphia Eagles running back is 268 yards from eclipsing the mark of Hall of Famer Eric Dickerson, who set the league record of 2,105 with the Rams in 1984.
Barkley, 27, who signed with the Eagles last offseason after spending the first part of his career with the rival New York Giants, is also 162 yards from becoming the ninth player to run for 2,000 yards in a season.
The other seven are Adrian Peterson (2,097 with Minnesota in 2012), Jamal Lewis (2,066 with Baltimore in 2003), Barry Sanders (2,053 with Detroit in 1997), Derrick Henry (2027 with Tennessee in 2020), Terrell Davis (2,008 with Denver in 1998), Chris Johnson (2,006 with Tennessee in 2009) and O.J. Simpson (2,003 with Buffalo in 1973).
The Eagles finish the regular season with home games against the Dallas Cowboys and the Giants.
Read more: Home will feel like home again for Rams when Cardinals visit SoFi Stadium
Dickerson spoke to The Times this week about Barkley, running backs in general, the Rams and the thought of his longstanding record going away:
How do you feel about the possibility of Barkley breaking your single-season rushing record?
I don’t think he’ll break it. But if he breaks it, he breaks it. Do I want him to break it? Absolutely not. I don’t pull no punches on that. But I’m not whining about it. He had 17 games to do it? Hey, football is football. That’s the way I look at it. If he’s fortunate to get over 2,000 yards and get the record, it’s a great record to have.
So the 17 games part doesn’t bother you, even though you set it with 16 games?
O.J. Simpson was my favorite player. He went over 2,000 yards in 14 games. It took me 15 games to get to 2,000. I had one extra game to play. Getting to 2,000…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/q-eric-dickerson-saquon-barkley-225641929.html
Author : LA Times
Publish date : 2024-12-26 22:56:00
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