Most rushing yards in NFL season including playoffs: How Saquon Barkley’s 2024 stats compare to Terrell Davis

Eagles RB Saquon Barkley declined to pursue Eric Dickerson’s single-season rushing record in Week 18, opting to rest up for the playoffs. That’s looking like a wise decision for more reasons than one.

Not only are the Eagles on the doorstep of the Super Bowl after two impressive performances by Barkley, but the Offensive Player of the Year favorite has another monumental record in his sights. Barkley could become the single-season rushing leader between the regular season and playoffs as early as Sunday when he tries to lift Philadelphia past the Commanders for a trip to Super Bowl 59.

Here’s a look at how Barkley can beat the record and which NFL legend currently holds it.

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Most rushing yards in a season including playoffs

The single-season rushing record including playoffs is held by former Broncos RB Terrell Davis, who ran for 2,476 yards during Denver’s second consecutive Super Bowl season in 1998. 

The regular season rushing record is held by Dickerson, who is closely followed by Adrian Peterson. Both Dickerson and Peterson, however, saw their playoff run cut short after one game during their stellar seasons.

Davis set the record in 1997 despite only rushing for 1,750 yards in the regular season, dominating on his way to a championship, and he broke his own record in 1998 after a 2,008-yard regular season.

Barkley sits two yards shy of Davis’ 1997 mark but still needs 147 yards to match and 148 yards to break the record set in 1998. 

Saquon Barkley stats 2024

Entering the NFC championship game, Barkley had 2,329 rushing yards through 16 regular season games and two playoff games. He’s on track to easily break the record should the Eagles reach the Super Bowl, but Barkley would need another explosive performance to pull ahead of Davis if the Eagles do fall short against Washington. 

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Terrell Davis stats in 1997, 1998

Davis dominated the regular season in both 1997 and 1998, but he was even more efficient during each playoff run. The Hall of Famer rushed for 581 yards and eight touchdowns over four playoff games in 1997 before rumbling his way to 468 yards and three touchdowns on six yards per carry in 1998.

Injuries derailed what could have been an all-time great career for Davis after 1998, as he played only 17 more games over the following three seasons before retiring ahead of the 2002 season.

2,000-yard rushers in the playoffs

Entering 2024, Davis was easily the exception to the rule for 2,000-yard rushers. All other 2,000-yard rushing seasons outside of Davis’ 1998 campaign either ended in a wild-card round loss or missing the playoffs entirely.

That’s great news for Barkley, as he already got over the wild-card hump.

The Eagles are headed to the NFC championship game, and Barkley has the second-highest playoff rushing total at the end of any 2,000-yard rushing season. Barkley would like to see the trend keep up and join Davis as a Super Bowl champion. 

MORE: Why Eagles rested Saquon Barkley amid record chase

Most rushing yards in playoffs all time

Barkley might be on track to break the single-season rushing record with the help of a dominant playoff run, but the all-time playoff rushing record is still far from his grasp.

Barkley has only 438 playoff rushing yards in his career, as he’s only played four playoff games. The record, held by Emmitt Smith, is 1,586. Barkley would need more than 891 just to crack the top 10 all-time. 

For now, Barkley will gladly settle for two more wins and a Lombardi Trophy as he etches his name in the history books. 

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