Saquon Barkley wanted to learn about the history of the team before making his own mark with the Eagles.
The running back, who had just signed with Philadelphia for $26 million guaranteed, took time to study the team’s past stars at his position.
He learned about Wilbert Montgomery and looked into LeSean McCoy’s career.
Barkley then set his sights on them — and this week, against Carolina, he could become the Eagles’ all-time leader for rushing yards in a single season.
To break that record, he would have to surpass Montgomery and McCoy. After that, Barkley’s next goal is to challenge Eric Dickerson’s NFL single-season rushing record of 2,105 yards, which was set in 1984.
“That’s your goal,” Barkley said. “You want to come in here, you want to leave a legacy on a place, on a franchise.”
Here’s where Barkley stands in his chase for records:
— Barkley has rushed for 1,499 yards, leading the NFL after 12 games, with an average of 124.9 yards per game. If he keeps up this pace and plays one more game than Dickerson did, he could break the NFL record that has stood for 40 years.
— Barkley needs 108 yards against the Panthers to break McCoy’s Eagles record of 1,607 yards set in 2013. Montgomery ran for 1,512 yards in 1978.
“I’m aware of the things I can accomplish,” Barkley said. “The way I accomplish that is sticking to the script.”
The Eagles (10-2) have won eight straight games, taking control of the NFC East and staying in the race for the No. 1 seed in the conference. Barkley, with some help from Jalen Hurts, has been a big part of this success and is now being considered for the MVP award. He also ranks third in the league with 11 rushing touchdowns.
Barkley is expected to add more yards against Carolina (3-9).
The Panthers have the worst defense against the run in the league and just allowed Tampa Bay’s Bucky Irving to rush for a career-high 152 yards last week (Irving had never gone over 100 yards in a game before).
“It’s incredible what he is doing. The record has stood up for a while. I mean 17 games or 14 games, it’s ridiculous,” Panthers defensive lineman Shy Tuttle said. “It’s a record that has been held for a long time and whoever breaks it, Saquon or someone else, it’s an incredible achievement.”
Barkley leads the NFL with four rushing touchdowns of 25 or more yards this season and is now tied with Montgomery for the most 100-yard games in an Eagles season, with eight.
“You get to see the player on Sundays. We get to see the person every other day during the week,” offensive coordinator Kellen Moore said. “He’s special. At the end of the day, he’s a special teammate, special person. The way he connects with everyone, rallies everyone together. He’s one of the best.”
