Saquon Barkley has what it takes to win the MVP

The MVP is an award that is practically exclusive to quarterbacks. It has been won by quarterbacks for eleven consecutive years, and in that span, Lamar Jackson, Patrick Mahomes, and Aaron Rodgers have all been named MVP twice. In fact, Rodgers won it three times.

The last non-quarterback to win the MVP was Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson in 2012. That year, Peterson ran for 2,097 yards and scored 13 touchdowns.

Before that, in 2006, Chargers running back LaDainian Tomlinson also won the MVP after setting NFL records with 31 touchdowns and 186 points scored, in addition to rushing for a franchise-record 1,815 yards.

A year earlier, the Seattle Seahawks’ Shaun Alexander set an NFL record with 28 touchdowns and led the league with 1,880 rushing yards.

History is the condition

It’s obvious that a running back needs a historic season to win the NFL MVP. And this year we have one who so far fulfills the requirements: Saquon Barkley.

The Philadelphia Eagles running back leads the NFL with 1,392 rushing yards, yards per game (126.5), average per carry (6.2) and 100-plus-yard games (seven, including five of the last six). Barkley is tied for fourth in the league with 10 rushing touchdowns, behind Derrick Henry (13), Jalen Hurts (11), and David Montgomery (11), while he is first in touchdowns of 20-plus yards (5), 30-plus (4), 40-plus (3) and 70-plus (2).

Barkley is the fifth player in NFL history to rush for 1,390-plus yards and 10 or more touchdowns in the first 11 games of a season, joining Hall of Famers Terrell Davis (1998), Walter Payton (1977), O.J. Simpson (1973, 75) and Jim Brown (1963).

Additionally, Barkley’s 1,392 rushing yards are the most by a player in 11 games in his first year with a team.

How did Philadelphia get him?

Barkley was selected in the first round of the 2018 Draft, with the second overall pick, by the New York Giants.

In 2023, the Giants placed the franchise tag on him and from that moment on they began negotiating with the running back to try to extend his contract.

Joe Schoen, the Giants’ general manager, preferred to give quarterback Daniel Jones a new contract and negotiate with Barkley later. In the end, they did not reach an agreement, Saquon became a free agent and in early March signed a three-year contract with Philadelphia.

That was one of the best signings of the Eagles in at least the last 20 years and today Saquon Barkley has turned Philadelphia into a Super Bowl contender.

Magnificent performance

In Week 12 against the Rams, Barkley recorded franchise records in total yards (302) and rushing yards (255), while scoring two touchdowns of more than 70 and 72 yards.

Barkley became the first NFL player to total 500 total yards in a two-game span since Walter Payton did it in Weeks 10 and 11 of the 1977 season.

He also became the first player with end zone runs of 70 or more yards in a single game since Maurice Jones-Drew in 2009.

Against Baltimore

Philadelphia visits the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday, another of the heavy favorites to reach the Super Bowl.

The Eagles are second in the NFL with a 23-9 record since 2021, behind only Kansas City, which is 23-8.

Since Week 3, Philadelphia’s defense ranks first in three-and-out percentage and leads the NFL in points scored off a turnover (46) since Week 8.

It won’t be easy in Baltimore, but if Barkley has another 100-yard game, the Eagles will put the Ravens on the ropes and confirm themselves as a Super Bowl contenders.

Pick: Eagles 31-27 Ravens

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