Saquon Barkley: The best player in the world? How the stars of the Philadelphia Eagles join the NFL’s MVP race | NFL News

The owner of the New York Giants John Mara famously warned general manager Joe Schoen this summer that he will have a “difficult time sleeping” the same as Saquon Barkley to receive with the division rival Philadelphia Eagles in free agency. Rumor has it, Mara didn’t wink the whole season.

Barkley has since torpedoed the NFL defense into oblivion and consigned the Giants to pitiful irrelevance, becoming the focal point of the Organized-made operation of Philadelphia’s rushing operation which has seen New York choose to pay only for the bench and release their $160m quarterback Daniel Jones.

It will prove to be the best thing that could have ever happened to Barkley’s career which was traded in a broken roster damaged by crater personnel, which poses as THE offense when shouldering much of the workload to see little reward. Funnily enough, an average of more than 20 touches a game is slightly more fun behind the offensive line of authority in the winning team than around MetLife mediocrity.

The move from blue to green has underlined what the NFL has long seen, but has perhaps been allowed to go unsung in the light of the Giants’ suffering. So he organizes his own exclusive league, whose members have a penchant for deviant sporting achievements that most people can only dream of.

The latest installment took place Sunday when he posted 302 yards from scrimmage, including 255 on the ground and touchdown runs of 70 and 72 yards, to lead the Eagles to a 37-20 win over the Los Angeles Rams. Not for the first time this season, Saquon was asked to admire his friends, including wide receiver AJ Brown.

“You’ve been the best player in the world, I think you’re the best player in the world,” Brown said in a clip from NFL Mic’d Up.

Brown had admitted earlier in the week that he was forced to reconsider his best player, his allegiance to former Baltimore Ravens running back Derrick Henry after a stint with the Tennessee Titans.

“I literally told Nick (Sirianni, the Eagles’ head coach) a few weeks ago that Derrick was the best thing I’ve ever done. And then he (Saquon) jumped over somebody. I had to think again, man. He’s amazing, he’s touched by God and hard work,” Brown said NBC’s Devin McCourty ahead of the Rams game.

With Sunday’s performance, Barkley now leads the NFL with 1,649 yards from scrimmage through 11 games, second most by a player in his first 11 games with a team behind Eric Dickerson’s 1,726 with the Rams in 1983. 6.2 yards per carry and 257 receiving yards from 27 catches while averaging just shy of 150 scrimmage yards per game.

That puts him on pace to match Titans running back Chris Johnson’s single-season scrimmage yards record of 2,509 in 2009. Only Henry (4,728) has more scrimmage yards than Barkley (4,541) since 2022, before that number. tilt while missing 21 games over three seasons – 14 in 2020 – due to injury.

“He’s a different type of player,” Rams edge rusher Jared Verse said post-game. “I’ve never seen a rebound like that. He can go downhill. He can rebound. And he does both, so we’ve got to be better on the boards.”

Barkley has accounted for 1,129 of Philly’s 2,181 yards on offense over a seven-game winning streak since the bye, giving 40 percent of the Eagles’ output from scrimmage along with seven touchdowns in that period.

Of course, they might get the prize from a lane-ploughing offensive line of Lane Johnson and Jordan Mailata among the league’s most complete. Of course, they can exploit the two-way threat of Jalen Hurts and the dynamic receiving tandem of Brown and DeVonta Smith that force defenses to balance attention in a way that the Giants and Saquon’s one-trick offense couldn’t. Of course, Barkley’s production and the success of center Cam Jurgens, who has been seen as the long-term successor to Jason Kelce with the pain of his rivals, may be related. But there’s no doubting the way Barkley has elevated Sirianni’s offense, from his consistent short-range efficiency to pinpoint home calls that have turned or buried games at crucial moments.

It has pushed him into the MVP conversation as the latest candidate tipped with a chance to become the first running back to scoop the accolade since Adrian Peterson in 2012. Only 13 MVP award winners have been running back in the Super Bowl era, the slim chance of trumping the position of its quarterback counterpart reminded the year last as Christian McCaffrey slips out of the discussion despite a league-high 2,023 yards and 21 touchdowns from scrimmage.

“That’s the thing that makes him so dangerous is that you ask him the ability to get to the second level unabated, and get enough speed, and that’s great,” said Rams head coach Sean McVay last week. “He’s as good as a slash runner so he can work the edge and then he can clear the angle and he can finish. That’s why he has the production he has, and that’s why he’s probably the type of MVP this season.”

The smug smirk on Hurts’ face told the story when Barkley raced clear for a 72-yard touchdown against the Rams, the Eagles quarterback reveling in the knowledge that he was now lined up next to a freak that made his job a little easier. Reed Blankenship’s imitation of the ‘Scream’ painting, Jordan Davis’ head shaking in disbelief and Sirianni’s speechless already told the story when Barkley made a comeback against the Jacksonville Jaguars last week, the Eagles felt they could walk again. doing things that no other player in his position could do.

The needle-shifting production has been matched by a weekly dose of jaw-dropping genius in igniting the Super Bowl claim that was lost last season. Barkley’s record-breaking campaign comes at a time in modern football where the number of franchise tags has stagnated and teams have tried to distance themselves from offering lucrative multi-year deals to withdraw for fear of the age of the position, operating with less confidence. solutions can be found in the pass-first era.

The effort may not lead to a resurgence or an increase in investment, but it may raise questions about how the league views the value of running back. Barkley has lifted the Eagles offense, Henry has taken the Ravens offense to new heights and Josh Jacobs is the focal point of Matt LaFleur’s Green Bay Packers offense, a trio of veterans offering some defiance to new trends after moving that offseason.

Barkley and Henry will meet this Sunday when the Eagles face the Ravens in what will be the earliest collision between two 1,300-yard rushers of the NFL season. The last player to rush for at least 1,300 yards and 10 touchdowns through 12 weeks was Shaun Alexander in 2005, so Barkley and Henry are in a two-horse race for Offensive Player of the Year.

History — along with Lamar Jackson and Josh Allen — suggests the MVP could get away from him (and Henry, for that matter). But no one is playing better football in the NFL than Saquon Barkley heading into Week 13.

Watch the Pittsburgh Steelers against the Cincinnati Bengals from 18:00 on Saturday live on Sky Sports NFL, followed by the Philadelphia Eagles against the Baltimore Ravens at 21:25; Stream with NOW.