Eric Dickerson does not think Saquon Barkley will break his single-season rushing record, nor does the Hall of Famer want the Philadelphia Eagles star to surpass his 40-year-old benchmark.

Barkley needs 268 yards to break Dickerson’s NFL record of 2,105 yards, which he set with the Los Angeles Rams in 1984. Barkley, 27, has 1,838 yards and 13 touchdowns on the ground this season, putting him within touching distance of being the ninth player in NFL history to have a 2,000-yard rushing season.

The former New York Giants star has the benefit of a 17th regular season, meaning there would be an asterisk next to the record if Barkley were able to set a new rushing record – unless he somehow goes off for 268 yards in Sunday’s clash with the Dallas Cowboys.

A Week 18 reunion with the Giants follows on Jan. 5, but Dickerson admits he is not rooting for Barkley to beat his record.

“I don’t think he’ll break it,” he told the LA Times. “But if he breaks it, he breaks it. 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.”

Barkley needs 268 yards to break Dickerson's record

Barkley needs 268 yards to break Dickerson’s record ( 

Image:

Kara Durrette/Getty Images)

Dickerson made clear he respects Barkley, and he believes the former No. 2 overall pick made a career-defining move by getting away from the Giants.

“I like him. But I tend to like big backs. He’s not a big back like I was. He’s elusive, he’s tough, he runs hard, he can catch the ball out of the backfield. I think he’s a great player,” Dickerson explained.

“I always felt like he’d never reach his potential when he was in New York. You could take Emmitt Smith and put him in Cleveland, and he’d have never been the Emmitt Smith we know now.”

A similar situation is brewing at the collegiate level, with Boise State star Ashton Jeanty chasing Barry Sanders’ single-season rushing record. Sanders rushed for a remarkable 2,628 yards in just 11 games in 1988 with Oklahoma State.

Jeanty has already played 13 games and could play three more if Boise State makes it to the College Football Playoff national championship game. The junior has racked up 2,497 yards on the ground in 2024, needing 131 more to surpass Sanders’ record.

The Detroit Lions icon, unlike Dickerson, wants to see his record broken. “That was some year,” Sanders posted on X in reference to his iconic 1988 season. “But let’s root for Ashton Jeanty to get it done in his bowl game.”