Saquon Barkley is on pace to break Eric Dickerson’s NFL single-season rushing record, though not by much. Yes, he will have an extra game in which to break it, but the record doesn’t care. The Pittsburgh Steelers do, however, and they want to knock Barkley off the pace. Not because they want to preserve the record—but because no running back should do well against them.
“That’s huge. It’s been a while since that’s been up there”, Steelers LB Patrick Queen said of Saquon Barkley challenging Dickerson’s record. “For him to find a new team and be able to get to that part in his career is just something that you don’t see at all. That’s hats off to his team, his offensive coordinator, his line, and him. The guys are doing a good job. So we’ve just got to go out there and we’ve got to play physical football and stop that”.
A former first-round pick of the Los Angeles Rams, Eric Dickerson rushed for 2,105 yards in 1984, his second season. Since then, nobody has been able to match him, even if he has had a few challengers. Outside of Derrick Henry, though, Saquon Barkley presents the most serious challenge in some time.
Through 13 games, Barkley has rushed for 1,623 yards. He is just the 12th player to rush for 1,600-plus yards in his first 13 games of any season, ranking the ninth highest. Dickerson himself had 1,643 yards through 13 games in 1984. Nobody has done it since DeMarco Murray in 2014, however.
“In order to keep [Saquon Barkley] from doing exciting things, you have to contain him, not let him get going and not let him get in rhythm”, OLB Preston Smith said, via Teresa Varley for the Steelers’ website. “When he gets in rhythm or he gets any open gaps, or anybody that is messing up their assignment, he can make some big plays”.
Speaking of big plays, Barkley has 13 rushes of 20-plus yards this season. He has a total of 37 runs of 10-plus yards, of which eight are touchdowns. In fact, Barkley has three touchdowns of 65-plus yards this season. Only 15 players have more than that in a career—he has three in a single season, and seven in his career. That is the fourth-most in NFL history, behind Adrian Peterson (nine), Chris Johnson (eight), and Derrick Henry (eight).
“It’s very important for everybody to handle their job and make sure that we don’t give him any rush lanes or any open lanes to run and make any big plays”, Smith said of the Steelers’ keys to defending Saquon Barkley. “We’ve got to eliminate the big plays from him and prevent him from having a huge game”.
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