The Philadelphia Eagles have already locked up the two seed in the NFC playoffs ahead of Week 18. The Eagles have been one of the most dominant teams in the league this year, largely due to their new addition, running back Saquon Barkley, having a record-breaking season. However, the team recently made a controversial decision regarding their playmaker.
Philadelphia Eagles Decision On Saquon Barkley
Barkley will sit out the Week 18 matchup against his old team, the New York Giants, ending his historic 2024 regular season. Barkley was just 100 yards away from tying the NFL’s rushing record held by Eric Dickerson, and many believed the Eagles would let him go and break the record this Sunday.
The #Eagles will rest Saquon Barkley and other starters on Sunday vs. the #Giants.
Saquon will fall just short of the NFL record for rushing yards. pic.twitter.com/fq54aNyg13
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) January 1, 2025
Barkley will finish the season with 2,005 rushing yards, just 100 yards short of the 2,105 record held by Dickerson. In his first year with a new team, Barkley has already broken the franchise record in Philadelphia for the most rushing yards. The offense has put up a lot of points and has been dominant over most of their opponents this year largely because of Barkley, who also has 13 touchdowns.
Philadelphia Eagles Fans React
Fans have mixed emotions to the news, with some wanting Barkley to play so that he can break the record, but the majority are happy that he is sitting the final game out so that he does not risk being injured for the postseason. One fan said, “We’ve got bigger aspirations than individual accolades. Right move, and I’m sure he’d agree.”
Fans also think that Barkley could have broken the record if he was playing this upcoming week, but it’s a little unfair since the NFL has added an extra game to the regular season since the record was last broken. “Amazing year for Barkley, but these season records need to be broken in the same number of games as the current record holder to feel legit,” another fan said about Barkley potentially breaking the record.
While we won’t witness the rushing title being broken, the Eagles seem to have bigger things in mind than personal records.
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