Eric Dickerson not rooting for Saquon Barkley in record chase

Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley needs 268 yards over the next two games to set the NFL single-season rushing yardage record.

One person not pulling for Barkley to set the mark: current record-holder Eric Dickerson.

“I don’t think he’ll break it. But if he breaks it, he breaks it,” Dickerson told the Los Angeles Times this week. “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.”

Dickerson set the rushing record in 1984 with 2,105 yards in 16 games. Barkley is at 1,838 yards through 15 games, an average slightly off record-setting pace (2,083 yards).

But with Jalen Hurts in the concussion protocol and likely out for Week 17, the Eagles could turn to their marquee free agent pickup this offseason to handle a even bigger role against the Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants — Barkley’s former team and a chance for some possible payback, Dickerson said.

“How ironic would it be for him to break the record on them, the team that let him go,” Dickerson said of the Week 18 matchup. “A true slap in the face.”

Although he may not be pulling for him, Dickerson praised Barkley as a “great player” who is “elusive, he’s tough, he runs hard.”

And if Barkley sets the record, Dickerson said he can rest on another mark that he views as the toughest to break.

“I’ve always said that the one that’s going to last the longest is me setting the rookie record with 1,808 [yards],” he said. “Because you only get one shot at that. You’re only a rookie once.”