Why isn’t Saquon Barkley playing against the Giants in week 18?

Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley joined an exclusive NFL club in his team’s Week 17 thrashing of the Dallas Cowboys, becoming just the ninth player in NFL history to go over 2,000 rushing yards in a season.

The 27-year-old got up to 2,005 yards, just 100 yards shy of the all-time record held by former Los Angeles Rams player Eric Dickerson, who reached 2,105 yards in 1984.

Given Barkley has surpassed 100 yards in 11 of his 16 NFL games this season, many had tipped him to break the record in the week 18 matchup against the New York Giants (Sunday, January 5, 1:00 p.m.).

However, he won’t have the opportunity to do so.

Why Saquon Barkley won’t be making NFL history against the Giants

Fear not Eagles fans, the running hasn’t picked up an injury ahead of the playoffs, which Philadelphia have already qualified for. Precisely because of that, coach Nick Sirianni has opted to rest some key players, Barkley included, against the Giants to ensure they go into the postseason feeling fresh.

The Eagles have already clinched the NFC East but can’t pip either the Detroit Lions or Minnesota Vikings to be the conference’s No. 1 seed. Whatever happens against the Giants, they will go into the postseason as No. 2, which means they will host the No. 7 seed (the Green Bay Packers or the Washington Commanders) in the wild-card round.

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