INGLEWOOD, Calif. — There’s no doubt about it anymore. Saquon Barkley absolutely deserves to be in contention for the NFL’s Most Valuable Player award.
“I don’t know why he wouldn’t be,” Lane Johnson said.
Johnson isn’t alone. Because anyone who watched Barkley’s record-breaking performance in the Eagles’ 37-20 win over the Rams would have to agree.
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Is there anyone in the NFL who’s more deserving of the MVP right now?
“I think everybody’s known what type of player he is,” Johnson continued. “He’s had some ups and downs in his career but I think now he’s having a real year where people can see what type of talent he carries. A guy that size that can do that, it’s fun blocking for him, I can tell you that. He’s a great teammate and he’s been like that since Day 1. He brings a lot to the table.”
It’s almost hard to list everything Barkley accomplished on Sunday night:
• Barkley had 26 rushing attempts for 255 yards and 2 touchdowns. His 255-yard performance is an Eagles record, surpassing LeSean McCoy’s 217-yard game against the Lions in the Snow Bowl in 2013.
NFL
• That 255-yard game is the ninth-best rushing performance in NFL history.
• Barkley also had 47 yards receiving, which gave him 302 scrimmage yards on the night. Not only is that a personal and franchise record, but Barkley is just the 12th player in NFL history to have 300+ scrimmage yards in a game.
• And with 255 rushing yards, Barkley is now up to 1,392 on the season. That’s a new career-high. And there are still six games left in the regular season!
So, yeah, Barkley belongs in the MVP race.
“We’ll start thinking about that when the season’s over,” Barkley said. “I love being in that conversation. It’s cool and all. But, like I said, it’s a team sport. If you told me that I could have the year I’m having and win the MVP and not win a Super Bowl or I could have the year I’m having and not win the MVP or Offensive Player of the Year and win a Super Bowl, I’m going to take the [second] one.”
Maybe Barkley doesn’t want to talk about the MVP award but the rest of us can.
And he now has the third-shortest odds to win the award on FanDuel:
Josh Allen: +135
Lamar Jackson: +300
Saquon Barkley: +650
Jared Goff: +700
Patrick Mahomes: +800
Justin Herbert: +3300
Jalen Hurts: +4000
Sam Darnold: +5000
Joe Burrow: +6000
Jordan Love: +6500
The last time a non-quarterback won the MVP award was Adrian Peterson in 2012. Before that it was LaDainian Tomlinson in 2006 and Shaun Alexander in 2005.
It doesn’t happen very often and the award has mostly been handed out to quarterbacks. But it’s hard to watch Barkley and what he means to the Eagles without thinking he has a legitimate shot.
“It would feel nice for us to have an MVP running back,” right guard Mekhi Becton said. “But we can’t make that decision. We just sit there and play ball. I don’t really want to get too deep into that.
“Every game he surprises me. He gets a little bit of space, he’s gone. Everything he does surprises me. I’m a fan out there. I’m just out there in awe whenever he does something.”
Barkley had a good first half with 73 rushing yards but then busted runs of 70 and 72 yards in the second half. He has an incredible blend of size, speed, agility and explosion. Barkley on Sunday reached 21+ mph twice and has now done it six times this season, per NFL NextGen Stats. The next closest players have three.
In a season where Barkley has been incredible week in and week out, he took his game to a new level in front of a national audience on Sunday night.
If he wasn’t in the MVP race before, he most certainly is now.
“I don’t get a vote,” Dallas Goedert said, “but if I was voting, I’d vote for him.”
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