Saquon Barkley stats: Here’s how many yards he needs to break Terrell Davis’ NFL rushing record
Saquon Barkley had an MVP-caliber year for the Eagles, and has several NFL rushing records in his sights in his first-ever Super Bowl appearance.
NEW ORLEANS — It’s Saquon Barkley’s birthday, and what better gift is there than entering your first Super Bowl with the chance to bring a trophy back to Philly ... and to break a few NFL records.
It certainly would be fitting for the league’s offensive player of the year, who wasn’t given the opportunity to go after Eric Dickerson’s long-standing NFL single-season rushing record of 2,105 yards, which he set in 1984. The Eagles rested all their starters in Week 18, leaving Barkley just 100 yards short of Dickerson.
It’s not Dickerson Barkley is chasing in the Super Bowl — it’s another Hall of Famer, former Denver Broncos running back Terrell Davis.
Barkley needs just 30 yards to top the NFL record for most rushing yards in a single season, set by Davis in 1998. That season, the Hall of Famer ran for a total of 2,476 yards counting the regular season, two playoff games and Super Bowl XXXIII (the Denver Broncos had a first-round bye).
While the Chiefs had the eighth-best rushing defense in the league during the regular season, allowing 101.8 yards per game, those numbers have ballooned in the playoffs. The Houston Texans rushed for 149 yards against the Chiefs during the divisional round, while Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills rushed for 148 during the AFC championship game.
Dickerson didn’t keep it a secret he was rooting against Barkley breaking his NFL rushing record. Does Davis feel the same way?
“No one talks about my record,” Davis said with a laugh in an interview with The Inquirer last month. “But nah, I’m good. There’s really no reaction to it. Let’s say he gets close, and he breaks it, or whatever, … at least I can show my kids, ‘Hey, man, at one point, I had the record. At one point, your dad was OK.’”
Here’s a rundown of how many yards and touchdowns Barley would need to top some decadeslong NFL postseason rushing records against the Chiefs tonight in the Super Bowl:
30 yards: That’s how many Barkley needs to break the record for most combined yards in the regular season and playoffs, set by Hall of Famer Terrell Davis during the Denver Broncos’ Super Bowl run in 1998. Barkley enters the Super Bowl with 2,447 combined rushing yards.
169 yards: If Barkley has a big game, he could also top Hall of Famer John Riggins’ four-decade-old record for the most rushing yards in a single postseason. The famed Washington back rushed for 610 yards across four games during the team’s 1982 Super Bowl run. Barkley enters the game with 442 rushing yards this postseason.
204 yards: That’s the record for most rushing yards in a Super Bowl, set by former Washington running back Timmy Smith in their 42-10 blowout of the Denver Broncos in 1988. Smith remains the only 200-yard rusher in Super Bowl history. Here’s a list of the top five Super Bowl rushing performances:
Top five Super Bowl rushing performances
248 yards: Eric Dickerson holds the record for most rushing yards in a playoff game, which he set in 1986 against the Dallas Cowboys. Barkley became just the ninth player in NFL history to rush for 200 or more yards in a single playoff game against the Los Angeles Rams in the divisional round. Here’s the full list:
200-yard rushers in the playoffs
5 touchdowns: Former Birds running back Ricky Watters holds the record for most rushing touchdowns in a single playoff game, which he set in 1994 with the San Francisco 49ers. This one might seem like a stretch, especially considering the Eagles’ reliance on the Tush Push, but Barkley did score three touchdowns in the NFC championship game against the Commanders.
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