NEW ORLEANS — Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley eclipsed two NFL records against the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday in Super Bowl LIX.
Barkley set a new mark for yards from scrimmage accumulated over the regular season and the playoffs on the game’s first play from scrimmage.
Later on in the first half, with the Eagles up 24-0, Barkley gained two yards on first down to break the all-time single-season rushing yardage record.
On his first carry of the game, the NFL Offensive Player of the Year darted left, rumbled for four yards and passed Terrell Davis for the most regular-season and postseason combined yards from scrimmage with 2,764.
Davis’ mark, 2,762 yards, set with the Denver Broncos in 1998, had stood for 26 seasons.
The former No. 2 overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft (New York Giants), Barkley had 2,283 yards from scrimmage in the regular season and came into the Super Bowl with 477 in the postseason — 2,760 total, just three yards shy of owning the mark for himself.
Barkley, celebrating his 28th birthday Sunday, then tied another Davis record: regular-season and postseason combined rushing yardage.
With 4:49 left in the second quarter, Barkley scampered for nine yards to boost his rushing total to 2,476 yards this season, tying Davis, who totaled 2,476 yards rushing in 1998.
He then took the record for himself two drives later with his two-yard run off right guard, giving him 2,478.
Barkley came into Super Bowl LIX with 2,447 yards accumulated over the regular season (2,005) and the playoffs (442), just 29 shy of Davis’ rushing record.
Coming into the game, Barkley was also 268 yards away from passing Darren Sproles (3,027) for most all-purpose yards in a single season (including playoffs), set in 2011 with the New Orleans Saints.
–David Gladow, Field Level Media
