Eagles running back Saquon Barkley sets the NFL’s season rushing record, including the playoffs
His 2,005 yards rushing in the regular season made Barkley the ninth running back in NFL history to top 2,000 yards. He entered the Super Bowl with 2,447 total rushing yards.
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Saquon Barkley holds an NFL rushing record set in the Super Bowl, held his young daughter as a torrent of confetti fell on them and flashed a smile as he held a Philadelphia newspaper with “CHAMPS!” stamped above his photo.
The Eagles running back then grasped what he really wanted to kiss and hold on this night in the Superdome — what he could only hope was ahead following his tumultuous end in New York that diverted his career down the turnpike to Philadelphia.
The 2,000-yard rusher earned his turn with the Lombardi Trophy.
“She looked prettier in person, I’ll tell you that,” Barkley said. “Something that you dream of. I’m just happy to hold it, be able to give it a kiss.”
Barkley finished with a modest 57 yards rushing in Eagles’ 40-22 win over Kansas City in the Super Bowl — a paltry number for an elite back who posted seven touchdown runs of 60-plus yards this season — but the number was enough to set the NFL season rushing record, postseason included, topping the mark of 2,476 yards set by Terrell Davis.
Barkley, the AP NFL Offensive Player of the Year, needed only 30 yards to top Davis’ total set in 1998 when he helped the Denver Broncos win the Super Bowl. Also that season, Davis was the last running back to win Super Bowl MVP.
Barkley ran the ball on the first offensive play of the Super Bowl and finally got the mark after a slow first half on a 2-yard run on the last play of the half. Barkley had 12 carries for 31 yards for a measly 2.6 yards per carry. He averaged 5.8 yards in the regular season.
The Eagles were fine without Barkley’s usually spectacular production. Thanks to two interceptions by the defense and two total touchdowns from Jalen Hurts, the Eagles led the Chiefs 24-0 at halftime.
Barkley had reason to feel festive Sunday, not only setting the record and playing in his first Super Bowl in his first season with the Eagles, he also turned 28.
His 2,005 yards rushing in the regular season made Barkley the ninth running back in NFL history to top 2,000 yards and he entered the Super Bowl with 2,447 total rushing yards.
Barkley had seven (postseason included) touchdown runs of 60-plus yards entering the Super Bowl and joined Davis as one of only two players in NFL history with at least 400 yards rushing and five touchdowns in a single postseason.
Long reluctant to spend major money on running backs, the Eagles have reaped the rewards and a rewriting of the franchise record book on their $26 million guaranteed leap of faith on Barkley. He has flashed the kind of did-you-see-that plays that fans say are ripped straight from a video game; including a mind-bending backward hurdle that was so foreign to the sport Madden had to release an update to make it possible in its game.
All this after his departure in free agency was chronicled by the documentary series “Hard Knocks.”
In the crucial scene, Giants general manager Joe Schoen told Barkley New York would not make him an offer or stick the franchise tag on him. Rather, the Giants let Barkley test the free-agent market, a move that sent him to an NFC East rival.
“I’ll have a tough time sleeping if Saquon goes to Philadelphia, I’ll tell you that,” team owner John Mara said to Schoen in the series. “As I’ve told you, just being around enough players, he’s the most popular player we have, by far.”
Mara might have wanted to skip watching this one.
Stuck at just two career playoff games in six seasons with the Giants, Barkley had arguably the greatest first season of any player in Eagles history. His 2,005 yards rushing (an Eagles record, eighth-most in NFL history) left him only 101 shy of breaking Eric Dickerson’s season record of 2,105.
The Eagles rested Barkley in the regular-season finale, denying him the shot to pass Dickerson.
There’s no sitting out in the Super Bowl — and now, there’s no running back who rushed for more yards in a wire-to-wire season.
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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL
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