With Super Bowl win, where would Saquon Barkley rank among the greatest RBs?

Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley can snap a curious NFL trend this Sunday.

With a win in Super Bowl LIX against the Kansas City Chiefs, Barkley would become the first running back in eight years to rush for 1,000 yards and win a Super Bowl in the same season.

From 1966-99, 21 Super Bowl winners had a 1,000-yard regular-season running back (61.7 percent). Since then (2000-23), eight Super Bowl champs have had a running back hit that mark (33.3 percent), including only three since 2008 (Ray Rice, Marshawn Lynch, LeGarrette Blount).

During the regular season, Barkley rushed for 2,005 yards and 13 touchdowns on 345 carries. He’s followed that with 66 carries, 442 yards and five touchdowns in three playoff games.

He’d have a credible claim for the best running back season in NFL history by adding a Lombardi Trophy to his remarkable 2024 resume.

Before Super Bowl LIX, here’s our list of the 10 best seasons by a Super Bowl-winning running back, heavily emphasizing the playoffs and Super Bowl.

10. Walter Payton (1985 Bears)

• Regular season: 324 carries/1,551 yards/9 touchdowns

• Playoffs: 67/186

• Super Bowl XX: 22/61

Payton had long been one of the league’s best running backs when he won his first—and only—Super Bowl with the Bears in January 1986. After a first-team All-Pro regular season, he wasn’t asked to do much during the playoffs, with Chicago’s incredible defense allowing 10 points in three playoff games, including two shutouts.

9. Corey Dillon (2004 Patriots)

• Regular season: 345/1,635/12

• Playoffs: 65/292/2

• Super Bowl XXXIX: 18/75/1

Dillon is often overlooked, but make no mistake — he was integral to New England’s dynasty-building third Super Bowl win in four seasons, gaining the most regular-season rush yards by a Patriots running back in the Tom Brady era (2001-19). 

Dillon is one of three players in NFL history with at least 1,600 rushing yards and a Super Bowl win in the same season, with Terrell Davis (1997, 1998) and Emmitt Smith (1992, 1995) being the other two.

8. Emmitt Smith (1995 Cowboys)

• Regular season: 377/1,773/25

• Playoffs: 74/298/6

• Super Bowl XXX: 18/49/2

Smith followed arguably his best regular season with his most restrained Super Bowl performance. He earned the right to take a backseat based on his previous championship games.

7. Franco Harris (1974 Steelers)

• Regular season: 208/1,008/5

• Playoffs: 87/343/6

• Super Bowl IX: 34/158/1

Franco became the second running back to be named Super Bowl MVP 50 years ago. The four-time Super Bowl champion set a then-record for Super Bowl rushing yards en route to Pittsburgh’s first Lombardi Trophy. Only three backs have eclipsed his rushing total, and none since former Washington running back Timmy Smith in 1987.

6. Marcus Allen (1983 Raiders)

• Regular season: 266/1,014/9

• Playoffs: 58/466/4

• Super Bowl XVIII: 20/191/2

Allen followed his first 1,000-yard regular season with one of the greatest Super Bowl performances in league history. The 2003 Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee gained 209 yards from scrimmage, the third-most in NFL history, trailing Smith (213 yards) and fellow Hall-of-Famer Jerry Rice (220 yards). (h/t Stathead)

5. Emmitt Smith (1993 Cowboys)

• Regular season: 283/1,486/9

• Playoffs: 66/280/3

• Super Bowl XXVIII: 30/132/2

The Cowboys won their second consecutive league title following Smith’s best Super Bowl performance. He had his second-highest playoff rushing total in Dallas’ 30-13 win over the Bills and sealed the victory with two second-half touchdowns while being named Super Bowl MVP. 

4. Roger Craig (1988 49ers)

• Regular season: 310/1,502/9

• Playoffs: 56/274/2

• Super Bowl  XXIII: 17/71

Don’t let Craig’s modest Super Bowl rushing total fool you. The three-time Super Bowl champion capped his best regular season by becoming the first running back in NFL history to record 100 receiving yards in a Super Bowl, nabbing eight receptions for 101 yards in the Niners’ win.

3. Emmitt Smith (1992 Cowboys)

• Regular season: 373/1,713/18

• Playoffs: 71/336/3

• Super Bowl XXVII: 22/108/1

Smith’s first Super Bowl run season was his sweetest. The NFL’s all-time leading rusher became the fourth player since the AFL/NFL merger to have three consecutive 100-yard games in a single postseason. Barkley and former Broncos running back Terrell Davis are the only two to accomplish the feat in the 32 years since.

2. Terrell Davis (1998 Broncos)

• Regular season: 392/2,008/21

• Playoffs: 78/468/3

• Super Bowl XXXIII: 25/102

Barkley can join Davis as the second running back in league history with 2,000 rushing yards and a Super Bowl win in the same season. Like Barkley, Davis followed an incredible regular season with an even better postseason, averaging 156 yards per game in three playoff games, up from 125.5 yards during the regular season.

1. Terrell Davis (1997 Broncos)

• Regular season: 369/1,750/15

• Playoffs: 112/581/8

• Super Bowl XXXII: 30/157/3

Davis’ two-year run from 1997-98 was special. It might be the best two-season stretch by a running back in NFL history. Davis set the playoff record for most rushing touchdowns and finished with the second-most rushing yards in a single postseason in 1997, trailing Washington running back John Riggins (610 yards). He joined Riggins as the only other running back in NFL history with four 100-yard rushing games during a playoff run.

Based on personal and team success, no back has reached the heights of Davis over a quarter-century ago. That could change this Sunday.