Before running through rushing lanes, Saquon Barkley went down a rabbit hole. 

As he prepares to make his NFL playoff debut with the Giants on Sunday against the Vikings, the historian in Barkley took a few minutes this week to research running-back records in the postseason: Who has the highest single-game rushing total? Who has the most career rushing yards and touchdowns in the playoffs? Who won the most championships? 

“They say, ‘Study the greats and become great,’ ” Barkley said. “Just went back to the past and tried to look up [numbers], try to give me some extra motivation to do some stuff.” 

Here’s what Barkley learned: The Rams’ Eric Dickerson rushed for 248 yards against the Cowboys in 1986, and the 49ers’ Raheem Mostert (now with the Dolphins) challenged the mark with 220 against the Packers in 2020. 

The Cowboys’ Emmitt Smith holds the career records with 1,586 yards and 19 touchdowns on the ground in 17 playoff games. Franco Harris, who is second in playoff history with 1,556 rushing yards, and Rocky Bleier won four Super Bowl rings apiece in the same backfield for the 1970s Steelers. 

Can Barkley imagine a future where some young hotshot running back is talking about chasing down his playoff numbers? 

“That’s why you do it: You want to create a legacy, you want to have an impact,” Barkley said. “I’m sitting here just reading off names, going back and I’m like a kid at a candy store, ‘Oh my god. Dang, you see this? I didn’t even know [about] that 1,500 yards.’ Hopefully one day I can do that. The way you do that is by focusing on the task at hand.” 

Barkley especially enjoyed seeing the late Harris’ playoff résumé given that they met through a Penn State connection. 

“Franco is way before my time. I wasn’t expecting him to be No. 2,” Barkley said. “I wasn’t expecting Emmitt to be like 1,500. I was expecting him to be like 900, 1,000. But 1,500 yards rushing and 19 touchdowns is insane. If you do that in the regular season, that’s one of the best seasons — or definitely an All-Pro season, depending on when you did it and the time you did it.” 

Barkley finished with a career-high 1,312 rushing yards in 16 games this season. The Giants can throw the ball on the Vikings, but any chance of a deep playoff run is dependent on Barkley carrying the load and beginning to work his way onto that list. 

“I would really love that,” he said. “Try and get to the top of that mountain, and if I don’t reach the top of the mountain, however far I get, at least I’ll know I had the right mindset and I put the right work in that when it’s all said and done there will be a smile on my face.”