Saquon Barkley: Eagles Are Focused on 'Bigger Things' Than Eric Dickerson's Record

Saquon Barkley is closing in on the record for the most rushing yards in a single season, but the Philadelphia Eagles running back has other things on his mind at this point in the season.

"I'm not overtly trying to get it. I'm not scared of it," he said after the Eagles' win over the Cowboys on Sunday, per NFL Network's Mike Garafolo. "But we've got bigger things we're focused on. Whether we play next week or rest, I'm fine with that. I didn't sign here just to break a record. I want to do something special with the team."

Barkley is enjoying the most successful individual season of his career, but he's also playing on a team capable of winning a championship for the first time in his career, something that means more to him than a record.

His outstanding play this year helped the Eagles win a division title.

"My first hat-and-T-shirt game," he said, per Garafolo. "I didn't even know that was a thing."

Barkley reached the 2,000-rushing yard mark on Sunday in the Eagles win over the Cowboys. He picked up 167 yards on the ground, bringing his season total to 2,005. He's now just 100 yards away from Eric Dickerson's 2,105 yards that he achieved in 1984.

Rushing for 100 yards wouldn't be too difficult for Barkley—he's done it 11 times this season against some of the top defenses in the league. But as Barkley mentioned, the Eagles might opt to rest their best players in preparation for the playoffs.

Having already clinched a playoff spot and the division, the only thing Philadelphia has to play for next week is the No. 1 seed in the NFC, but getting it would be a longshot. To get the No. 1 seed, Philadelphia needs to win against the Giants and count on both the Detroit Lions and Minnesota Vikings to lose this week. From there, the Eagles would need the Vikings to be the Lions next week.

Given how much the Eagles need to happen to earn the top seed, it's likely they'll give their starters a break to avoid any injuries.

If that's the case, Barkley will fall short of the record, but he still had a tremendous season and can make it even better with a big playoff run.