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Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley became the ninth player in NFL history to rush for 2,000 yards in a single season during Sunday's (December 29) game against the NFC East Division rival Dallas Cowboys.
Barkley surpassed the 2,000-yard mark on a 23-yard run in the fourth quarter, which put him at 2,005 yards for the season, 100 yards shy of Pro Football Hall of Fame running back Eric Dickerson's single-season record of 2,105. The former Penn State standout joins an elite class that includes four Pro Football Hall of Famers and four NFL MVPs:
- Buffalo Bills RB O.J. Simpson- 2,003 yards (1973) (HOF/MVP)
- Los Angeles Rams RB Eric Dickerson- 2,105 yards (1984) (HOF)
- Detroit Lions RB Barry Sanders- 2,053 yards (1997) (HOF/MVP)
- Denver Broncos RB Terrell Davis- 2,008 yards (1998) (HOF/MVP)
- Baltimore Ravens RB Jamal Lewis- 2,066 yards (2003)
- Tennessee Titans RB Chris Johnson- 2,006 yards (2009)
- Minnesota Vikings RB Adrian Peterson- 2,097 yards (2012) (MVP)
- Tennessee Titans RB Derrick Henry- 2,027 yards (2020)
- Philadelphia Eagles RB Saquon Barkley- 2,005 yards (2024)
Barkley finished Sunday's game with 167 yards on 31 carries, with his 23-yard run to break the 2,000-yard plateau serving as his longest of the game. The Eagles secured the No. 2 spot in the NFC playoff standings by officially winning the NFC East Division title with a blowout win against the rival Cowboys on Sunday.
The Eagles will face the division rival New York Giants, Barkley's former team, with the running back just 100 yards shy of DIckerson's single-season record, though the team is expected to rest its starters having already secured its playoff seeding.
