The Eagles could face a hypothetical conundrum in their regular season finale against the Giants, as they could potentially have the top seed (or the second seed) in the NFC mathematically secured, making their Week 18 matchup with New York meaningless in terms of playoffs and postseason positioning.
But Philly could also have a chance at history with Saquon Barkley, who could be knocking on the door of Eric Dickerson’s single-season rushing record if the running back continues on his current trajectory.
So, if the Eagles get to Week 18 and the game itself is meaningless, do they let Barkley go for glory despite his history with injuries during his time with the Giants? Ike Reese says the team should absolutely let him go for the record.
“Yeah, without question,” Ike said. “I do. I hope he gets it done sooner rather than later in that hypothetical meaningless game, maybe in the first half...but how do you get to this point and not try to break the record?
“That record has stood for what, 40 years? When is someone gonna have the opportunity to do this? You owe it to yourself, to the offensive linemen who I’m sure want to go out there and break it so they’re attached to the record...the optics of him leaving and coming to a division rival and then setting the rushing record, it’s redemption.”
Barkley currently sits at a league-high 1,499 rushing yards, averaging 124.9 yards per game. With five games to go, he trails Dickerson’s mark set in 1984 by 606 yards. If Barkley continues on his current yards per game pace over the next four games, he will be at 1,998.6 yards on the season, 116.4 yards shy of the record. It would take nearly a full-game workload to break it during that regular season finale based on his current pace, so it would take a commitment, and a risk, from the Eagles to let him go for history. Ike says they should be fully on board with doing it, understanding the risks that come with it.
“For me, he is the face of the 2024 Eagles,” Ike said. “This is a sort of cherry on top that is within your grasp. You can do it.”