Eagles’ OL split on whether to play for Saquon Barkley’s chance to make history

Saquon Barkley is the first and loudest guy to champion the Eagles offensive line for helping him accomplish so many great things this season in Philly, but with just one game left, and nothing on the line, the group blocking for Barkley isn’t on the same page as to what happens next.

Barkley was able to cross the 2,000 rushing yards threshold on Sunday, and already bypassed the Eagles former records for single season rushing yards and single season yards from scrimmage — both records previously held by LeSean McCoy. But, there’s still one record left, and in reach, for the Eagles’ RB to top: NFL all-time single-season rushing yards.

He is only 101 yards away from topping Eric Dickerson’s single-season rushing yards (2,105) record set back in 1984. That is totally reasonable with how Barkley has been used and how he’s been able to take advantage of certain opportunities this season.

The problem lies in whether it’s smart to let Barkley go for the record. Head coach Nick Sirianni said he has a lot to think about in the coming days, and made sure to note that they have bigger goals for this season than individual records and an NFC East title. Sirianni will now weigh whether or not to rest starters in Week 18 heading into the playoff — giving the guys a bit of a break and time to heal up.

For as much as the Eagles offensive line championed their record-setting rusher all season, they’re now on different pages as to whether they want Sirianni to let Barkley attempt the ultimate feat next Sunday — against the team that didn’t value him.

Lane Johnson spoke after the game and admitted that at 34 years old, a week off has a lot of benefits. The Eagles have been forced to play in postseason games without Johnson after a late-season injury, and we all know that the team is better when the veteran right tackle is on the field. Playing him against the Giants is a big risk.

“Eric Dickerson is who he is, Saquon [Barkley] is who he is. We just wanted to get to 2,000. We were fine with that. Better be safe than sorry.”

That mentality isn’t shared by all of his teammates, however, with Jordan Mailata speaking post-game and saying that he’d even go as far as to advocate to Sirianni that they push for Barkley to break the record. Mailata said he “absolutely” wants to play next week for that chance, and called it “an opportunity to make history.”

Ultimately, it’s not Lane Johnson or Jordan Mailata’s decision. It’s not even Saquon Barkley’s decision. Frankly, it might not even be solely Nick Sirianni’s decision.

Risking Barkley’s health, and the health of the offensive line, in a meaningless game when this group is on the verge of a really special postseason run, is most certainly a decision that will include Jeffrey Lurie and Howie Roseman. Sirianni said that his priority is making the best decision for the team, but he admitted he’s sensitive to these types of records. After all, the record hasn’t been broken in 40 years, and getting this close and not going for it might be something they second-guess for a long time.

Only time will tell, but Barkley has already done phenomenal things in Philly, and this is just the beginning. (But, I’m glad it’s not my decision to make.)