No NFL player has rushed for more yards than Saquon Barkley did in his first season with the Philadelphia Eagles.
On the final play of the first half in Super Bowl LIX, Barkley amassed the most rushing yards in NFL history between the regular season and playoffs, breaking a record held by Terrell Davis. The Denver Broncos great rushed for 2,008 yards in the 1998 regular season, then 468 yards on his way to a championship in Super Bowl XXXIII.
Barkley did it on a 2-yard gain to cap off a fairly quiet half, in which he posted 31 yards on 12 rushes. That didn't hurt Philadelphia too much, as the team entered halftime up 24-0 on the Kansas City Chiefs after a dream start.
That's quite a way to celebrate a birthday, as Barkley turned 28 years old on Sunday. He wasn't the only Eagle to do something special on his birthday either.
Barkley, named the NFL Offensive Player of the Year on Thursday, came just short of the regular season-only record at 2,005, finishing 100 yards behind Eric Dickerson's longstanding mark of 2,105. The Eagles sat Barkley in Week 18 rather than risk him as he went for history.
It is beyond understatement to say Barkley's first year in Philadelphia was a success. After six seasons with the New York Giants in which both his health and effectiveness would vary, the former No. 2 overall pick moved from one of the worst offensive lines in the NFL to one of the best last offseason on a three-year, $37.75 million deal.
The resulting combination established Barkley as the top runner in the NFL. Success was almost immediate, but the first-team All-Pro picked up momentum as the season went on and kept going in the playoffs.
His signature play: leaping over a defender backwards.
It's not hyperbole to say Barkley finished up the greatest running back season in NFL history on Sunday. One of the most physically and mentally gifted runners the league has ever seen was finally given a team that could properly use him, and the results more than speak for themselves. At the very least, he gave the Giants something to think about.
