Philadelphia Eagles' Saquon Barkley in action on Dec. 29, 2024, in Philadelphia.Matt Slocum/The Associated Press
Saquon Barkley appears set to sit out the Philadelphia Eagles final regular-season game Sunday, denying the running back his chance at breaking Eric Dickerson’s NFL single-season rushing record.
Barkley would finish the season with 2,005 yards rushing, just 101 yards shy of breaking Dickerson’s record of 2,105 yards set with the Los Angeles Rams in 1984.
The Eagles (13-3) clinched the NFC East and the No. 2 seed in the conference, leaving little to play for in Sunday’s home game against the New York Giants.
Eagles coach Nick Sirianni declined Wednesday to say outright which starters would play and which ones would sit out, saying of Barkley, “he’ll probably be somebody that rests.”
Sirianni said he talked with Barkley, in his first season with the Eagles after six years with the Giants, about his decision.
“I think it’s pretty obvious how special this guy is,” Sirianni said.
Sirianni and the Eagles decided playing Barkley was not worth risking injury to perhaps their most valuable player and only the ninth running back in NFL history to top 2,000 yards rushing in a season.
Win, lose or tie against the Giants, the Eagles will host the Green Bay Packers or Washington Commanders in a wild-card playoff game.
Sirianni likely will rest the bulk of the starters – notably quarterback Jalen Hurts, who sat out Sunday’s rout of Dallas with the lingering effects of a concussion – to get them rested and healthy ahead of what the franchise expects will be a meaningful run to the Super Bowl.
Hurts was still in the NFL’s concussion protocol on Sunday and could not practice or play until he was cleared.
With a pursuit to the Super Bowl ahead, Barkley’s run at the rushing record appears grounded.
After he ran for 167 yards in Sunday’s win against Dallas – the 27-year-old Barkley said, he wanted the record, but he would do what was best for the team, even if that meant sitting out the last game of the regular season.
Barkley signed a three-year deal with the Eagles for US$26-million guaranteed and US$37.75-million overall, making him the highest-paid running back in franchise history.
KC to rest Mahomes; Wentz to start
Kansas City will rest quarterback Patrick Mahomes and other starters in Sunday’s regular-season finale against the host Denver Broncos. KC (15-1) have locked up the No. 1 seed in the AFC and head coach Andy Reid confirmed Wednesday that veteran Carson Wentz will be under centre on Sunday. Wentz, 32, has played a total of nine snaps in two games this season, his first with Kansas City. He completed both of his pass attempts for 20 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions. Drafted No. 2 overall by Philadelphia in 2016, Wentz is 47-45-1 as a starter with the Eagles (2016-20), Indianapolis Colts (2021), Washington Commanders (2022), Los Angeles Rams (2023) and KC. Wentz has completed 62.7 per cent of his passes for 22,312 yards with 153 touchdowns and 67 interceptions. He was a Pro Bowl selection in 2017. Mahomes, 29, has completed 67.5 per cent of his passes for 3,928 yards with 26 touchdowns and 11 interceptions this season. Although Sunday’s game has no bearing on the two-time defending champion KC’s playoff seeding, the fates of the Broncos (9-7), Miami Dolphins (8-8) and Cincinnati Bengals (8-8) are at stake. Including Kansas City’s first-round playoff bye, Mahomes and other teammates who sit out Sunday will have a whopping 23 or 24 days of rest before the Jan. 18-19 divisional round.
Ekeler may be back for Commanders
ASHBURN, Va. – The Washington Commanders opened Austin Ekeler’s practice window Wednesday, and the running back could return for their season finale at Dallas this weekend when they have something to play for even after wrapping up a playoff spot. Washington would be the NFC’s sixth seed if they beat the Cowboys on Sunday, ensuring a wild-card round game at Tampa Bay if it wins the NFC South or the NFC West champion Los Angeles Rams. A loss or tie – unless Green Bay loses to Chicago – would send them to NFC East Division-winning Philadelphia instead. Ekeler took part in what hed coach Dan Quinn called a “jog through” workout Wednesday after missing the past four games because of a concussion that landed him on injured reserve. The 29-year-old was concussed on a kickoff return late in the Commanders’ home loss to the Cowboys on Nov. 24. The Commanders moved ahead of the Packers, who lost Sunday at Minnesota, by beating Atlanta in overtime. The Rams would be the third seed if they beat Seattle or the Buccaneers lose to New Orleans.
Garoppolo to make debut for playoff-bound Rams
LOS ANGELES – Jimmy Garoppolo will take his first snaps for the Rams when he starts in place of Matthew Stafford in playoff-bound Los Angeles’ regular-season finale against Seattle on Sunday. Coach Sean McVay announced the decision Wednesday to rest Stafford, the 16-year veteran starter. The Rams haven’t decided which additional starters will rest. Los Angeles (10-6) has clinched the NFC West title over the Seahawks (9-7) based on strength of schedule. The Rams are currently the third seed in the NFC playoff bracket, but they will fall to fourth if they lose to Seattle and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (9-7) beat Atlanta to win the South division. The wild-card seeding is still in flux among Minnesota, Washington and Green Bay, so McVay clearly doesn’t care whether the Rams enter the postseason as the third or fourth seed.
Colts QB Richardson hopeful of returning in season finale
INDIANAPOLIS – Indianapolis Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson said he was in such severe pain last week he struggled to walk. The 22-year-old appears to be feeling much better this week – possibly even well enough to start Sunday’s season finale against the Jacksonville Jaguars. After missing last weekend’s playoff-eliminating loss to the New York Giants, Richardson stood tall Wednesday, fielding questions for about six minutes while explaining he hopes to return this week. “Definitely feeling a lot better,” Richardson said. “Just lower back stuff. Last week was tough. I couldn’t even stand up on Tuesday, was kind of crawling around the house. But you know I’m standing up.” And yet coach Shane Steichen was still saying late last week that Richardson had been dealing with back soreness and still might play. Richardson explained he’s been dealing with back spasms since eighth grade and MRIs have shown he has disk issues, causing the pain intermittently.
Netflix’s NFL Christmas Day doubleheader scores big
Netflix’s first NFL Christmas Day doubleheader ended up being successful globally. The Baltimore Ravens’ 31-2 victory over the Houston Texans averaged 31.3 million while Kansas City’s 29-10 win at Pittsburgh averaged 30 million worldwide, according to Netflix’s first-party data released on Tuesday. The two games are also the most streamed in NFL history in the U.S. The Ravens-Texans contest has an updated average of 27.2 million with KC-Steelers coming in at 25.8 million, according to Nielsen and Netflix. Both NFL games surpassed the previous mark of 23 million for last season’s AFC wild-card game between the Miami Dolphins and Chiefs on Peacock. Nielsen also said there were 65 million U.S. viewers who tuned in for at least one minute of one of the two games, making it Netflix’s most-watched Christmas Day. Netflix and the NFL said viewers from 218 countries and territories tuned in to at least one of the games.
The Associated Press, Reuters