Saquon Barkley broke the record, and the torch was passed.
Midway through the fourth quarter and on the doorstep of it during Sunday's 22-16 Eagles win over the Panthers, Barkley took the handoff and burst for a several-yard run to midfield, putting him past 1,607 yards rushing for the year to officially make him the Eagles' single-season rushing leader.
For the game, Barkley finished with 20 carries and 124 yards, bringing him up to 1,623 yards rushing on the season in an effort that propelled him above both McCoy at 1,607 and Wilbert Montgomery at 1,512 in the all-time, single-season franchise ranks.
The Eagles couldn't stop to celebrate, as the Panthers stayed on their heels until the very end. But watching from afar, McCoy had a congratulatory message ready to share – both for Barkley and the offensive line that helped to open up the holes in front of him.
"26, just a lot of love coming from 2-5," McCoy said in a video posted to his Twitter/X account. "Now go get that other record, 2,100 yards with Eric Dickerson. Fly, Eagles! Fly! I'll see you all in New Orleans, let's get it!"
Big s/o to my boy @saquon on breaking my franchise single season rushing record. Let’s go get that Dickerson record see yall in the N O super bow bound @Eagles pic.twitter.com/SM5SXvyyaV
— LeSean Shady Mccoy (@CutonDime25) December 8, 2024
McCoy, nicknamed "Shady" throughout his career, set the Eagles' old single-season rushing record back in 2013, when Chip Kelly was a first-year head coach and running a rapidly-moving offense through McCoy and a breakout Nick Foles, which rallied that season's team into the playoffs.
It took McCoy all 16 games that year to reach his 1,607-yard mark.
Barkley, who went to high school in Whitehall and grew up watching that record season, surpassed it in 13 games. He has four games left to try and reach Eric Dickerson's all-time NFL single-season record of 2,105 yards.
"I'd be lying to you if I said that wasn't pretty cool," Barkley told FOX Sports' Kristina Pink of breaking the Eagles' record on the field postgame. "Especially because Shady held the record, and growing up in Pennsylvania….being a fan of Shady and seeing the things he was able to do, and to have my name mentioned with that guy, it means a lot."
“I’d be lying to you if I said that wasn’t pretty cool. Having my name mentioned with that guy means a lot.”
Saquon Barkley after passing LeSean McCoy for most rushing yards in a season for the @Eagles 👏 pic.twitter.com/Rp1cpUSafc— NFL on FOX Podcast (@NFLonFOXPod) December 8, 2024
MORE: The pivotal plays from the Eagles' nail-biter win over the Panthers
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