Saquon Barkley’s pursuit of Eric Dickerson’s 40-year-old rushing record could get grounded by his coach.
Nick Sirianni’s decision is more difficult than it seems.
Barkley needs 101 yards rushing against his former team on Sunday to set the NFL's single-season record. But the Philadelphia Eagles (13-3) are locked into the No. 2 seed in the NFC so the outcome of their game won't affect the standings.
Win, lose or tie against the New York Giants, the Eagles will host the Green Bay Packers or Washington Commanders in a wild-card playoff game.
They don’t have a bye so this game is an opportunity for Sirianni to rest most of his starters ahead of the playoffs and avoid risking injuries to key players.
Winning a Super Bowl is Philadelphia’s priority. The Eagles are built to win it all. They have a dynamic offense and the league’s top-ranked defense.
Putting the team first is a coach’s responsibility. Chasing individual records could jeopardize the organization’s championship hopes if Barkley goes down in a meaningless game.
The Eagles can’t afford to lose quarterback Jalen Hurts, receivers A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith or any of their starting offensive linemen, especially right tackle Lane Johnson.
All those reasons make it a simple choice for Sirianni to rest Barkley.
It’s not that easy, however.
“Everything is taken into account,” Sirianni said Tuesday on WIP radio in Philadelphia. “I’m going to always do what’s best for the team and the individuals going for that. I’m still thinking through a little bit of this, too. ... Take a lot into account. What’s the best thing for the team and then also what’s the best things for the individuals going for the record.”
Sirianni said he plans to speak to everyone, including players, coaches, general manager Howie Roseman and owner Jeffrey Lurie before making his decision.
In 2021, Sirianni rested several starters in the final regular-season game with the Eagles locked into the No. 7 seed. But he played wide receiver Smith long enough for him to break the team’s rookie receiving record.
Barkley became the ninth player in NFL history to reach 2,000 yards rushing early in the fourth quarter of a 41-7 victory over Dallas. Sirianni immediately pulled him out with several minutes remaining and Barkley finished the game at 2,005 yards. Dickerson had 2,105 for the Los Angeles Rams in 1984.
When Barkley ran for 176 yards against the Giants in his former home stadium in October, Sirianni asked him if he wanted to stay in the game to chase his career high. He needed 14 more yards at that point. Barkley declined, telling his coach to let the other running backs get their carries.
Barkley eventually surpassed his personal mark when he ran for 255 yards against the Rams on Nov. 14.
As for Dickerson’s record, Barkley isn’t lobbying to play.
“The way I look at it, if it’s in God’s plan, then it is,” Barkley said. “I’m not overly trying to go get it. I’m not scared of it. I would love to, but at the end of the day, also, we’ve got bigger things that we’re focusing on. ... Rest, I’m fine with that, too, because I didn’t come here and sign here just to rush for 2,000 or break a record. I want to do something special, meaning special with the team.”
With Barkley on board publicly, that takes pressure off Sirianni.
Still, he’s debating what’s best for the team.
Bill Belichick and Jim Harbaugh presented arguments for playing the starters.
“We’re gonna be playing to win at all times. That never changes,” Harbaugh said Monday night on SiriusXM’s “Let’s Go!” “And I like what Derwin James said, he’s our captain. ... he said: ‘Eleven wins sounds better than 10.’ We’re attacking it with an enthusiasm unknown to mankind. You know, the thing that doesn’t resonate right now is ‘play the backups.’ What are we gonna do, dress 25 guys for the game?”
Harbaugh has guided the Los Angeles Chargers (10-6) to an AFC wild-card berth in his first season with the team after leading Michigan to a national championship last year. The Chargers can’t finish lower than the No. 6 seed and have a chance to move up to the fifth spot with a win and a loss by the Steelers.
Belichick, the six-time Super Bowl champion head coach, often faced a late-season decision on whether to rest starters during his time with the New England Patriots.
“That’s what some people, I think, have a hard time with is, ‘Well, don’t play your starters.’ I mean, you can only have seven inactive guys. Who are they?” Belichick said. “And it’s tough to go to your team and say: ‘Well, we’re not gonna play you guys over here, but the rest of you get out there. We don’t really care about you. If you get hurt, that doesn’t matter, but these six or seven guys we’re going to protect.’ You can’t say that to the team. That doesn’t resonate well at all, nor should it. So I always had a hard time with that one.
“Now, if a guy was fighting an injury and everybody understood that the guy was fighting an injury, OK, that’s one thing. But to just say: ‘Well, you guys are important, but you other guys aren’t, we don’t care what happens to you. Get out there and play.’ That’s not a message I could ever send to the team. Even though there were people in the organization that wanted me to send that, I just couldn’t do it.”
Hurts could be a factor in Sirianni’s decision to play or rest Barkley and the starters. Hurts has missed the past seven quarters after sustaining a concussion against Washington.
He could be rusty going into the playoffs after a nearly three-week layoff. So, Sirianni could choose to play Hurts a few series, one quarter or however long enough to get him back on track.
If so, the starting offense would play. But playing Hurts may be too risky for a team with Super Bowl aspirations.
Ultimately, the same goes for Barkley.
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