Should the Eagles let Saquon Barkley chase NFL history in Week 18?

The Philadelphia Eagles wrapped up the NFC East title on Sunday afternoon by doing a controlled demolition of the Dallas Cowboys, 41-7, and with the Minnesota Vikings outlasting the Green Bay Packers later on Sunday, the Birds are now locked in to the second seed in the NFC.

Had the Packers pulled off the comeback, the Birds would still have needed the Lions to lose at the 49ers on Sunday Night Football later tonight, lose at home against the Vikings next weekend, AND pick up a win themselves at home against the hapless New York Giants for the 1-seed but alas, that dream is dead.

However, the big question heading into the final week is still: should star running back Saquon Barkley play, potentially risking injury, and chase the single-season rushing record? After gaining 167 yards on the ground against Dallas in Week 17, Barkley sits a mere 101 yards shy of breaking Eric Dickerson’s record of 2,105 yards set back in 1984.

Early in the fourth quarter against Dallas, Barkley cut off the left side of the Philadelphia offensive line and sprinted down the sideline to break 2,000 yards on the season.

Barkley currently sits in eighth place on the single-season rushing list behind a who’s who of Running Back Royalty:

1. Eric Dickerson, 2,105 yards, 1984, LA Rams
2. Adrian Peterson, 2,097 yards, 2012, Minnesota Vikings
3. Jamal Lewis, 2,066 yards, 2003, Baltimore Ravens
4. Barry Sanders, 2,053 yards, 1997, Detroit Lions
5. Derrick Henry, 2,027 yards, 2020, Tennessee Titans
6. Terrell Davis, 2,008 yards, 1998, Denver Broncos
7. Chris Johnson, 2,006 yards, 2009, Tennessee Titans
8. SAQUON BARKLEY, 2,005 YARDS, 2024, PHILADELPHIA EAGLES
9. O.J. Simpson, 2,003 yards, 1973, Buffalo Bills
10. Earl Campbell, 1,934 yards, 1980, Houston Oilers

Barkley, the NFL’s leading rusher in 2024, is averaging 131.6 yards per game this year so, hypothetically, he wouldn’t even need to play the whole game to break the record. Certainly worth noting for the purposes of the record: Dickerson set his record in 16 games while Simpson set his in only 14. Barkley, if he plays, will have had 17 contests to accumulate his rushing total.

Dickerson is on record saying he doesn’t even want Barkley to become the NFL’s single-season rushing champion, telling Sam Farmer of the Los Angeles Times:

“I don’t think he’ll break it. 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.”

So, Eagles fans, what do you think? Now that Philadelphia has no seeding-related reasons to play their starters should Barkley suit up in Week 18 or not?