Eagles' Landon Dickerson wants Saquon Barkley to pursue Eric Dickerson's rushing record: 'That's a fairy tale ending'

Ariel Simpson, The Philadelphia Inquirer on Dec 31, 2024

Published in Football

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PHILADELPHIA — The Eagles clinched the division and the No. 2 seed in the NFC with a dominant 41-7 win over the Dallas Cowboys. As they head into their season finale against the New York Giants, there’s one question lingering over the team: Will Saquon Barkley play on Sunday?

The running back is just 101 yards away from breaking Eric Dickerson’s single-season rushing record of 2,105 yards with one game remaining in the season. Dozens of analysts and players have voiced their opinions on whether the Birds should let Barkley chase the record — including Eagles guard Landon Dickerson.

“I mean, we’re talking about a 40-year fish,” Landon Dickerson said on WIP. “Everybody’s not seeing the whole picture, right? So hear me out. What’s better than hanging 40 on Dallas to win the NFC East, getting 2,000 rushing, and then we got the chance to go break the rushing record versus 2K’s old team? I’m just saying that’s a fairy tale ending.”

Barkley is already in the midst of an MVP-caliber season since signing a three-year contract with the Eagles. The two-time Pro Bowler already set the franchise single-season rushing record and became the ninth player to log 2,000 rushing yards in a season. Breaking Eric Dickerson’s record against his former team would be the cherry on top — a Super Bowl would look pretty good, too.

The Eagles locker room has continually praised Barkley for his performance throughout the season, joining him on his journey to chase the record. When Landon Dickerson was asked if he’ll talk to coach Nick Sirianni about playing Barkley, he responded, “We’ll definitely talk to him. ”

“The thing is that it’s not just a Saquon thing,” Dickerson said. “It’s not an O-line, an offense thing. Every person in that building now gets attached to the guy that sets the rushing record. It’s a franchise thing. Thirty years from now when they’re retired or whatever, that’s still part of something they were able to do. It’s part of a legacy.”

Eagles cornerback Darius Slay is another player excited to see Barkley make history. After Eric Dickerson’s interview with USA Today — featuring him saying he doesn’t want Barkley to break his record — the cornerback voiced his opinion on the former Los Angeles Rams running back.

“I don’t like what OG [Eric Dickerson] said,” Slay said on the Big Play Slay podcast. “He was like, low-key hating on Saquon, talking about I hope he doesn’t break it. We have records for records to be broken. And your record has been standing for so long. Pass the torch. There’s nothing wrong with passing the torch.

“I just don’t like how he said it. He was kind of crazy. I didn’t like that. Makes us feel like the old heads are hating and we should not be hating on nobody. We all want greatness for each other. You don’t think he put in just as much work as you did for that 2,100 yards you rushed for?”

It’s still not certain on whether Barkley will play Sunday. But when Sirianni was asked about it on WIP, he brought up a similar situation from 2021 — when he decided to rest Jalen Hurts and the starters in a meaningless game in Week 18 but play DeVonta Smith, who broke DeSean Jackson’s franchise rookie record for receiving yards in a season.

“Everybody else was resting, but we wanted for everyone else — whatever it was — we didn’t play some other guys in that game, but we went and got him that record,” Sirianni said. “Every situation is a little different. Not saying one way or the other ... or even that I made a decision yet.”

If Barkley does happen to play in Sunday’s game, the running back has the opportunity to break the record in style as the Birds debut their all-black uniforms for the first time this season.