The Boys of Fall.
It has been a minute, but the last time a running back won NFL MVP honors was 12 years ago. Adrian Peterson, as a member of the Minnesota Vikings earned it after rushing for more than 2,000 yards. In recent years it has turned into a quarterback award exclusively.
The last time a running back was MVP without 2,000 rushing yards in a season or breaking an NFL single-season touchdown record was Emmitt Smith when he was with the Dallas Cowboys in 1993 during their Super Bowl run.
Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley is going to cause sleepless nights for voters and make it hard on them to pick between just the best signal caller available for MVP this season.
Barkley made his case even stronger and added to his remarkable season with another huge game on the road, and this one was in prime time on Sunday Night Football. Barkley was a man amongst boys, as he ran over, around and past the Los Angeles Rams. Barkley rushed for 255 yards, passed 1,500 yards from scrimmage on the season, and the Eagles cake walked to a decisive 37-20 win. Barkley’s rushing total was the ninth highest in a game in NFL history and the most in Eagles franchise history.
“Saquon has that ability to hit home runs, and so sometimes that’s how it goes,” Eagles coach Nick Sirianni said. “You get some short gain, short gain, short gain — boom, home run. Saquon is that type of player, and our offensive line did a good job of handling the variations of the front.”
The victory puts Philadelphia’s record at 9-2 for the season. With the Washington Commanders’ loss on Sunday to the Cowboys, the Eagles lead the division by three full games with six to play.
Barkley could join an elite club ending up with 2,000 rushing yards this season. He is on pace for it, with 1,392 yards through 11 games. That is a career high for Barkley with six games to go. That might get him enough MVP votes to win the award. But as the Eagles surge toward an NFC East crown, Barkley’s chances keep getting stronger, whether he eclipses the magic 2,000 number or not.
“To be honest, I’m not surprised,” said Barkley, a two-time Pro Bowl selection. “I didn’t know I would have this much success, (but) I’m thankful to be here. I’m thankful for the fresh start. A big reason why I wanted to come here (is) I felt like this is a spot where I could rewrite my story and show everyone the type of player that I feel like I can be and was meant to be, and it’s working out right now.”
Embed from Getty ImagesBarkley’s former team, the New York Giants, who took one on the chin earlier Sunday with a 30-7 loss to Baker Mayfield and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, blew it this offseason. Barkley is clearly a first-team All-Pro this season and so is Green Bay Packers safety Xavier McKinney, who is tied for the NFL lead in interceptions. The Giants somehow let both of them walk out the door in free agency this offseason.
Even worse, the Giants made Barkley look like a mostly average running back for many seasons due to a horrible offensive line, which they still have not fixed. The same Barkley who is electrifying the NFL and revitalizing Philadelphia’s offense did not even get close to breaking 1,000 yards rushing with the Giants in 2023. Barkley has to be on cloud nine to be with a legitimate NFL operation this season and a Super Bowl contender.
The Eagles are not known for spending an exorbitant amount of money at the running back position, but made Barkley an exception to the rule. They must have seen how the Giants were wasting his talent and how their stellar offensive line could turn him back into the star he was at Penn State.
Barkley has been balling since the Eagles’ Week 1 win over the Green Bay Packers in Brazile. The Eagles got another brilliant performance on Sunday night.
The game was on ice with less than three minutes left, but Barkley broke a 72-yard touchdown run to punctuate his massive night. It is not easy to break long touchdowns like that in the NFL, but Barkley has made it look routine this season.
Since their bye week, Philadelphia is 7-0. If there is an NFC team that could go to the ‘Motor City’, Detroit and knock off the Lions in the playoffs, the Eagles are the most obvious answer. The only thing that could stop this train is injuries.
Barkley carried the day on Sunday, but the defense has quickly become one of the NFL’s best. The Rams have an electric offense when they are clicking on all cylinders, and in a crucial second quarter they had -6 yards on four possessions. As the Eagles get more comfortable with new defensive coordinator Vic Fangio’s scheme, there has been dramatic improvement on that side of the ball.
And the offense has a plethora of options. Barkley just transformed the Eagles’ ground attack. Now they have a superstar who is capable of chunk plays and massive games, a player who can turn what should be a negative play into something positive more often than not.
If that sounds like a good MVP candidate, it is because he is. Defenses cannot stop Barkley this season. The only thing that might stop him might be recent MVP voting history.
