Eagles decision shatters player's hope to claim this Rams running back record

When I read the latest update about the former LA Rams running back Eric Dickerson's single-season rushing record ending up safe for another NFL season, I am reminded of Star Trek. In the movie "The Wrath of Kahn," Science Officer Spock commits a huge sacrifice by entering lethal radiation to effect repairs on the Enterprise. Those repairs allow the ship to fight off Kahn, and save the crew. Spock says: "The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few or the one," as he lays dying in the radiation-filled engine room.

And that is the rationalization for the Philadelphia Eagles to sit running back Saquon Barkley in Week 18. The Eagles, like many teams with a seeding in the upcoming 2025 NFL Playoffs, will not improve nor degrade their seeding by the result of their Week 18 contest. So it only makes sense to sit their top offensive weapon, and ensure that he not only avoids an ill-timed injury, but that he enters the postseason fresh and rested as well.

It's the right call, but it does derail Barkley's chance to overtake Eric Dickerson's single-season rushing record of rushing for 2,105 yards and 14 touchdowns in 1984. Currently, Eagles running back Saquon Barkley boasts 2,005 rushing yards and 13 touchdowns. And that is where he will remain:

Barkley had a superb season. But it does magnify just what a special season Dickerson had in 1984. That was a time when defenses were built to top the run. But they couldn't stop Dickerson. And Dickerson only had 16 games in a regular season to put up such lofty numbers.

And that sits well with former Rams RB Eric Dickerson

Rams running back Eric Dickerson is getting a lot of attention right now, courtesy of Eagles RB Saquon Barkley. But the attention comes with an expectation that Dickerson would quietly bow out and allow the next generation to claim his rushing title with support and applause. Eric Dickerson is made of stronger stuff folks.

He is old school, a revered era of the NFL when they didn't change the rules annually to make the game more exciting. He played when physical contact was indeed that: Physical contact. He played in the era when injuries did not necessarily mean that players would instantly head to the sidelines. It was a time when 'rub a little dirt on it,' was the mantra, when allowing the next man up to compete could cost you your livelihood, when tackles were hard and bones were bruised and broken.

So no, Eric Dickerson, a legend who earned the pinnacle of respect in the NFL but outperforming so many legendary rushers in NFL history, was not about to cheer on a guy who signed for the highest bidder and has an extra game to break his record. And I get that.

But let's hear from the legend himself:

Setting records in the NFL is something that will set that player, that individual, in the record books for a very long time. But the Philadelphia Eagles realize that record-setting goals for Saquon Barkley simply do not align with the team goals of succeeding in the postseason.

"The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few or the one." may have been a line from a Star Trek movie, but it applies to the Eagles and RB Saquon Barkley too. And LA Rams legendary RB Eric Dickerson is happy that it does.

As always, thanks for reading.

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