There’s handling an awkward situation with grace — what we all probably aspire to — and there’s letting your true feelings come out when a microphone is in your face.
Both are valid. Take the high road or keep it real.
Pro Football Hall of Fame running back Eric Dickerson chose the latter in addressing Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley’s pursuit of his single-season NFL rushing record of 2,105 yards set in 16 games in 1984.
Barkley has 1,838 rushing yards through 15 games, putting him on pace to finish with 2,083 yards with 2 games remaining. If Barkley does find a way to break Dickerson’s record, it won’t be with the support of the former Los Angeles Rams and Indianapolis Colts star.
Mainly, Dickerson seemed to have an issue with the fact Barkley gets an extra game to try and break his record. It’s worth pointing out that when Dickerson broke Buffalo Bills running back O.J. Simpson’s single-season record of 2,003 rushing yards set in 1973, he did it with 2 extra games than Simpson, who set his record in 14 games.
The NFL expanded to a 16-game schedule in 1978 and expanded to a 17-game schedule in 2021.
“I don’t think he’ll break it. But if he breaks it, he breaks it,” Dickerson said in a Q&A with Sam Farmer of the Los Angeles Times on December 26. “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.”
Of the Top 20 single-season rushers in NFL history, only Simpson in 1973 and Cleveland Browns running back Jim Brown in 1963 (1,863 rushing yards) played the 14-game schedule.
Dickerson One of NFL’s Greatest Players of All Time
Dickerson was selected No. 2 overall by the Los Angeles Rams in the legendary 1983 NFL draft after he was a 2-time All-American at SMU — 1 of 7 Hall of Famers selected in the first round.
Dickerson, who played at 6-foot-3 and 220 pounds, was a running back who could have dominated in any era and also still holds the NFL single-season rookie rushing record with 1,808 rushing yards in 1983.
“I’ve always said that the one that’s going to last the longest is me setting the rookie record with 1,808 (yards),” Dickerson told Farmer. “Because you only get one shot at that. You’re only a rookie once.”
Dickerson played 11 seasons for 4 different teams — he also played 1 season each for the Los Angeles Raiders and Atlanta Falcons — and finished his career with 13,259 rushing yards and 90 rushing touchdowns.
The irony for Barkley’s pursuit of the rushing record is that if he is somehow to take Dickerson’s crown, he will likely do it against his old team, the New York Giants, in the regular-season finale.
Barkley signed a 3-year, $37.75 million contract with the Eagles in the offseason after the Giants famously declined to sign him — the Giants are 2-13 and headed toward having the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NFL draft while the Eagles are 12-3 and considered a legitimate Super Bowl contender.
