[autotag]Saquon Barkley[/autotag]’s quest to join an exclusive club of NFL running backs is still attainable, but the former Penn State star is going to have to crank it up just a bit in the final three games of the season to pull it off. Barkley is in line to become the NFL’s ninth running back in league history to rush for 2,000 yards in a single season, but Sunday’s game against the Pittsburgh Steelers slowed down his pace just enough to make the goal a little more difficult to reach.
Barkley rushed for 65 yards as the Philadelphia Eagles claimed in-state bragging rights over the Steelers in a 27-13 win in Lincoln Financial Field. The Eagles were thriving much more through the air with Jalen Hurts and A.J. Brown putting to rest all of the hot talk in the media leading up to the game, but the Steelers made things difficult for Barkley and the Eagles running game. Barkley also missed a majority of the second quarter after seemingly getting hit on the knee on a tackle by Minkah Fitzpatrick. Barkley did return to the field in the second half.
The 65 rushing yards was Barkley’s lowest rushing output since rushing for just 47 yards against the Cleveland Browns on Oct. 13, and it was Barkley’s second-lowest rushing total in a game this season. Barkley now sits with 1,688 rushing yards on the season. That leaves Barkley 312 yards shy of the 2,000-yard mark with three games left to play, all in the division.
Barkley needs to average 104 yards per game in the final three weeks of the season to hit the 2,000-yard mark. The chase for Eric Dickerson’s single-season rushing record of 2,105 yards will likely be out of reach. Barkley would have to average 139 yards per game for the next three weeks to tie Dickerson.
The final three games of the season for Barkley and the Eagles will come on the road against the Washington Commanders, and then back-to-back home games with the Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants. Barkley rushed for 146 yards against the Commanders on Nov. 14, 66 yards against the Cowboys on Nov. 10, and 176 yards against the Giants on Oct. 20. That is an average of 129.3 yards per game against division opponents, so the 2,000-yard mark is absolutely possible.
The Eagles may need to win these next three games as well as the team is jostling with the Detroit Lions and Minnesota Vikings for the no. 1 seed in the NFC. That could force the Eagles to keep key players on the field, which could be good news for Barkley’s chase for history.
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