NFL legend Eric Dickerson gets honest about Saquon Barkley breaking his 2,105-yard rushing record
NFL legend Eric Dickerson was honest in his interview about Saquon Barkley getting close to breaking his record for the highest rushing yards in a single season. Barkley is having a remarkable season in 2024 and only needs 268 yards to break Eric Dickerson’s single-season rushing record.
Dickerson achieved the record in 1984 and has held it for 40 years. He recorded 2,105 yards in a single season while playing for the Los Angeles Rams. Saquon Barkley is close to breaking the record as the season concludes.
In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, Dickerson said he did not want Barkley to break his record.
"I don’t think he’ll break it," he said. "But if he breaks it, he breaks it. Do I want him to break it? Absolutely not. I don’t pull no punches on that. But I’m not whining about it. He had 17 games to do it? Hey, football is football. That’s the way I look at it. If he’s fortunate to get over 2,000 yards and get the record, it’s a great record to have"
Dickerson further talked about if he "turned in to watch Barkley."
"I don’t sit down and watch games, except the Rams, and I work for the team," Dickerson said. "But I’ll have no choice but to keep up with it because I get so many text messages. People blowing up my phone like, 'Man, it’s not fair. He gets 17 games,' or, 'We’re going to put a hex on him.'"
Even if Saquon Barkley reaches 2,000 rushing yards, it would be remarkable. Only eight players in NFL history have reached the 2,000-yard mark over the years.
The first was O.J. Simpson in 1973 when he recorded 2,003 yards in a single season. Following him, only seven NFL stars have touched the 2,000-yard mark, but no one has been able to break the long-standing record set by Dickerson.
If Barkley achieves this feat, he would be the second-oldest running back to hit the 2,000-yard mark and the ninth player to achieve it. He needs 162 yards to reach 2,000 yards and 268 yards to break Dickerson's record.
Former Philadelphia Eagles player picks Saquon Barkley for MVP 2024
In a recent interview, former Philadelphia Eagles star Brian Dawkins advocated for Barkley as the favorite candidate to win MVP. He praised Barkley for his phenomenal season and said (via Clutch Points):
"If Saquon plays those couple of games at the end of the year, I believe it's going to be him. If they lock it up and they decide to rest him, then the other quarterbacks that are playing are going to win it. It's really a quarterback trophy. That's the way it's turned out.”
However, as per the betting odds via BetMGM, Josh Allen is the favorite to win MVP with odds of -250. Saquon Barkley is the third favorite with odds of +1400, while Lamar Jackson is the second with +160.