The Eagles made the right decision on New Year’s Day when they decided to sit Saquon Barkley for the season finale against the New York Giants this Sunday at 1 p.m. at Lincoln Financial Field. It was not a popular choice among some, when head coach Nick Sirianni uttered on Wednesday that Barkley would be one of the starters that will … “probably be somebody that rests” as the Eagles ramp up for the playoffs.
Barkley finished the season shattering every Eagles’ single season rushing record, with 2,005 yards joining an elite group of nine that have rushed for 2,000 yards or better in a season.
He will finish a mere 101 yards shy of breaking Eric Dickerson’s 2,105-yard mark set in 1984. Considering the Giants are playing to lose on Sunday to maintain their lofty draft status, Barkley could have very easily broken the all-time single-season rushing record. But the Eagles wisely do not want to risk their franchise back.
It makes sense.
It was a head-over-heart decision.
Everything about Barkley has been good this season on and off the field. He has been, and always was, a very good locker room presence. When healthy, he has been a stellar running back. He has a team-first mentality and now the very team he plays for owes him something: A Super Bowl ring.
If Barkley wanted to press the matter, he could have. Instead, he opted to sit and recharge for a Super Bowl run and sacrifice a career all-time milestone that would have under his Hall of Fame bust in Canton.
“[Sirianni] asked me if I wanted to play, if I wanted to go for it,” Barkley told the media on Wednesday. “I said on Sunday [that] I probably didn’t care too much for it. When I slept on it, it was an opportunity to implant my name in football history, and I may never get an opportunity like that again. So, I’m down. But at the end of the day, I don’t care for putting the team at risk.
“He’s the head coach for a reason. He makes those decisions, and whatever decision he wanted to make, I let him know if you let me play, I’m going to go out there and make sure I get it. And if I don’t, I am OK with that, too.”
Barkley said his father was not pleased he was sitting on Sunday.
“You’ve got to think about it,” Barkley said. “whether it would take a year if I broke it for someone to break it or another 40 to 50 years, our name would have been attached to that. I see it from that side, too, but at the end of the day, the most important thing is winning football games, and he’s the one that raised me to be all about the team, too, so he can have his little selfish moment, but he’ll get over it.”
Now that the Eagles are saving Barkley for the postseason—they better win in the postseason considering what he gave up.
Sirianni is certainly aware of the ramifications.
“Obviously it’s a very special record that’s been standing for a very long time by a great player. It’s a team record that everybody’s involved in. You weigh all those things,” Sirianni said on Wednesday. “But at the end of the day, you just try to do what’s best for the team. When the bye was, how guys are feeling, the bumps and bruises we can take care of. We’ve put ourselves in a position to be in this situation. It wasn’t the easiest decision to go through, but we have great people in this building and had a lot of input from a lot of people, players included.”
Barrett Brooks, one of the stalwarts on NBC Philadelphia’s Eagles Postgame Live show, is as locked into the Eagles as anyone. Brooks saw this coming immediately after Barkley rushed for 167 yards on 31 carries in the 41-7 win against the Dallas Cowboys last Sunday. Brooks blocked for Hall of Famer Jerome Bettis. He played during a different time when the NFL game was more physical. Bill Cowher, Brooks’ Steelers’ coach, would have let Bettis go for the record—playing for the 2005 Super Bowl-winning Pittsburgh Steelers.
“I knew the Eagles were not going to play him, it’s the way the Eagles operate,” Brooks said. “As a player, I wanted Saquon to break the record and I know there are many guys on that team that wanted him to break the record. As an NFL player, you are a competitor. The Eagles have set a precedence the last three, four years with how they play in the preseason and what they do in minicamp. Saquon, you know, wanted to go for the record.
“But Nick Sirianni has been a highly successful coach. He has a track record of keeping his guys fresh and healthy. Nick has done a great job of directing a talented team to four-straight postseasons. It was a tough decision for Sirianni and I respect the choice he made. It was not easy. Saquon is one of the best guys in the game. Everyone loves him. They wanted him to break that record. This team is built to win a Super Bowl. That’s their bigger picture. Your heart wants this for Saquon, to do something that would put Saquon on the mountain top and help put a yellow jacket on him one day. Your head overrules that.
“Barrett Brooks the player would have loved to block for Saquon Barkley, and smash that record for 200 yards. Personally, I wanted him to break the record. In the beginning of the season, I said if Saquon won the rushing title, the Eagles would win the Super Bowl. As an analyst behind a desk, I understand what the Eagles are doing from their track record and how they have handled things the last couple of years. Health is wealth to the Eagles.”
If the Eagles fail to win the Super Bowl, more than a few in the Eagles organization owe Saquon Barkley an apology.
