Saquon Barkley had one of the best nights of any player in the 91-year history of the Philadelphia Eagles. No player in Eagles history rushed for more than 250 yards or had more than 300 yards from scrimmage in a game until Barkley accomplished both feats in Sunday’s 37-20 victory over the Los Angeles Rams.
Barkley finished with 26 carries for 255 yards and two touchdowns, averaging 9.8 yards per carry. He added four receptions for 47 yards to finish with 302 yards from scrimmage. He broke LeSean McCoy’s franchise record for rushing yards in a game (217) and Duce Staley’s franchise record for yards from scrimmage in a game (262).
Barkley became the first player in NFL history to have 250+ rushing yards, 45+ receiving yards and two touchdowns in a game. The 255 yards rushing and 302 yards from scrimmage are the ninth-most for a single game in NFL history.
Does Barkley watch when he’s setting records? He said he inadvertently saw his numbers before setting a franchise record Sunday night.
“I’m not going to lie, I looked up and watched a race replay and saw I was at 173,” Barkley said with a smile on his face. “I said, I wish I’d never seen that.”
Here are all the feats Barkley accomplished in the win over the Rams, along with some fun stats from his historic start to the season (via CBS Sports Research):
- Franchise record 302 yards from scrimmage, most in the NFL since Josh Jacobs’ 303 with the Raiders in 2022.
- Rushing scores of 70 and 72 yards, two of the three longest runs of his career.
- Sixth player in NFL history with two rushing touchdowns of 70+ yards in a game
- First player in NFL history with two rushing touchdowns of more than 70 yards in the second half of a game.
- Eight 30-yard runs in the second half this season are five more than any other player.
- He leads the NFL in carries of 30 yards (9), 40 yards (6) and 50 yards (5) this season.
- Barkley has more rushing yards (1,392) than 21 teams this season, including the Giants (1,275)
- Barkley’s 10.2 yards per touch (302 yards from scrimmage on 30 touches) are the most yards per touch since Adrian Peterson in 2007 (his NFL-record 296-yard rushing game).
- His 1,392 rushing yards are the eighth most in the first 11 games of a season in NFL history.
- The 1,392 rushing yards are already Barkley’s career-high for rushing yards in a season.
- Barkley has 1,649 yards from scrimmage this season, the 10th most in the first 11 games of a season in NFL history and the most in the first 11 games of a season after changing teams.
- Barkley is on pace for an NFL-record 2,151 rushing yards and an NFL-record 2,548 scrimmage yards this season.
- Barkley has 920 rushing yards on 7.9 yards per carry in the second half of games this season. It would be the most in the second half in the last 30 seasons (minimum 100 carries). Barry Sanders holds the all-time mark with 6.9 in 1997
Barkley is making a case for the league MVP award with his historic start. He may be on track for the best season for any player in Eagles history.
