It didn’t take long for Saquon Barkley to make NFL history in Super Bowl LIX.
On the very first play of Sunday’s title game in New Orleans, the Philadelphia Eagles running back delivered a four-yard run.
That gave Barkley 2,764 scrimmage yards this season, including the playoffs, to set a new single-season record.
The previous high mark belonged to Terrell Davis, who totaled 2,762 scrimmage yards in the 1998 regular season and postseason for the Denver Broncos.
Less than two hours later, Barkley set the single-season rushing record, including the playoffs, with a two-yard run on the final play of the first half.
That gave Barkley 2,478 rushing yards, surpassing Davis, who totaled 2,476 rushing yards, including the playoffs, in 1998.
Barkley, who turned 28 on Sunday, entered Super Bowl LIX needing 30 rushing yards to set the new mark. He went into halftime with 31 rushing yards on 12 carries.
Sunday continued a historic season by Barkley, who signed a three-year, $37.75 million contract with the Eagles in March after the Giants failed to extend him.
Barkley rushed for 2,005 yards over 16 games in the regular season, making him the ninth player in NFL history to reach 2,000 yards. He finished 101 yards shy of the regular-season rushing record, which Eric Dickerson set with 2,105 yards in 1984.
Rather than pursue that record in an inconsequential Week 18 game against the Giants, Barkley and other Eagles players rested ahead of the playoffs.
Barkley spent his first six seasons with the Giants, whose previous general manager, Dave Gettleman, drafted him No. 2 overall in 2018.
Barkley delivered a pair of 1,300-yard seasons and earned two Pro Bowl selections with the Giants, but he appeared in only two playoff games — both after the 2022 season — during his tenure with Big Blue.
After using the franchise tag on him in 2023, Giants general manager Joe Schoen allowed Barkley to test free agency last year and watched him leave for a hated divisional rival.
Barkley entered the Super Bowl with 442 rushing yards and five touchdowns in the playoffs.