Record-breaking Eagles’ Saquon Barkley won’t play against Giants

PHILADELPHIA — Eagles running back Saquon Barkley He will likely miss Sunday’s regular-season finale against the New York Giants, coach Nick Sirianni said, ending his pursuit of the single-season rushing record.

With Philadelphia’s postseason berth secured, Sirianni suggested Barkley will be one of the starters rested as the Eagles prepare for the playoffs.

If so, Barkley will finish the regular season 101 yards shy of breaking Eric Dickerson’s NFL record of 2,105 yards, set in 1984.

Whether he should get a chance to go for the rushing title was a hot point of debate in Philadelphia and beyond this week. The Eagles (13-3) have clinched the NFC East division title and are locked into the No. 2 seed in the NFC, making the Giants game irrelevant from a playoff positioning perspective.

Opinion was divided in the Philadelphia locker room following the Week 17 victory over the Dallas Cowboys. right tackle Johnson was inclined to give the incumbents a rest, under the premise that “it is better to be safe than sorry.”

left tackle Jordan MailataFor his part, he said he planned to “pressure” the starters to play against New York.

“It’s an opportunity to make history,” Mailata said. “We never really talked about the Giants next week, but we had a feeling that if we don’t try today, we might be out. We don’t know. Coach hasn’t said anything yet. We’ll see.”

Barkley said he would be fine with whatever Sirianni decided.

“Whatever their decision is, I’m all for it,” Barkley said. “If your mentality is, let’s go out and try, I’ll go out and try. If your mentality is, let’s rest and prepare for this race, I’m all for that too. … I came here to do something special. Beat a record is special, but I want a sign up there, I think we all do.”

With his 167-yard performance against Dallas, Barkley became just the ninth player in NFL history to rush for more than 2,000 yards.