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By Matt Audilet
Contributing Sports Writer
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Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley experienced a relative down year in 2025, rushing for 1,140 yards and seven touchdowns. The year prior, he rushed for a historic 2,005 yards and 13 scores as the Eagles played their way to a Super Bowl title.
Barkley is looking to get back to that elite production in 2026, which will be his ninth NFL season.
Barkley's favorite running back of all time is Barry Sanders, who's best season came during his ninth NFL campaign in 1997. That year, Sanders rushed for 2,053 yards and 11 scores.
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Only four running backs in the last 20 years have rushed for at least 1,300 yards at the age 29 and beyond. Barkley delivered a strong response to this statistic during a recent conversation with Zach Berman of The Athletic.
“The competitor in me, who I am to the core, I want to say [expletive] everybody. You don’t think I’m able to put myself in that category?'” Barkley said. “Why can’t I put myself in that category for another five more years? That’s the mentality I have.”
“When I look at the guys that I want to be in the category with when I’m done playing, they all played well when they got older,” Barkley added. “I think if you look at Walter [Payton], like the late 20s, a little bit into the early 30s, they still were playing at a high level. I think Barry’s a great example. Barry’s best year was when he was 29. Not saying that necessarily I’ll have my best [year] at 29. He had 1,500 yards the next year, and took a tackle for loss, and he had [1,491] yards when he was 30, and left on top.”
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The Eagles will open up their 2026 season with a Week 1 matchup against the Washington Commanders on Sunday.
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