Reasons Eagles RB Saquon Barkley could win NFL Offensive Player of the Year

Had you told us in March that Saquon Barkley would post 176 yards rushing during a Philadelphia Eagles win at MetLife Stadium, we wouldn't have been shocked. Revenge game... Saquon returns to face the New York Giants team that let him go. Yeah... 176 rushing yards makes sense.

What's crazy however is he notched 11 more yards receiving, giving him 187 total yards on the day. That's 68 more yards the the entire Giants offense, and get this. He didn't notch a single carry during the fourth quarter.

With another eye-opening outing, one we called an MVP-level performance, Saquon continues to craft one of the great Eagles single seasons of recent memory.

If he keeps this up, he'll earn postseason accolades at February's NFL Honors ceremony. His current MVP odds stand at +10000 as of Monday evening according to our friends at DraftKings, but he may be an obvious candidate for the NFL's Offensive Player of The Year Award.

Saquon Barkley is coming up huge in clutch moments.

Saquon Barkley has been so good, that a drive-ending drop in his debut at Lincoln Financial Field didn't lead the sometimes overly-critical Eagles fans to turn on him. Most, instead, blamed bad playcalling and head coach Nick Sirianni.

Barkley isn't perfect. No one is. Human error can factor into any sport at any moment, but more often than not, Barkley has come up huge during important moments when his teammates needed him to do so. You remember that run in New Orleans, don't you?

Those poor Saints haven't bounced back since.

There's plenty of time left for Barkley to continue making an impression. If he stays healthy, the sky is the limit for him in Philly.

This is beginning to feel like Christian McCaffrey's phenomenal 2023-24 regular season.

The comparisons to Christian McCaffrey's 2023-24 campaign began long before Philly boarded a plane for Brazil. You can certainly see the similarities, can't you? One of the NFL's top talents at the running back position joins a loaded offense with elite weapons around him.

McCaffrey, as much as we hate the 49ers, was just what the doctor ordered in San Francisco. He was the NFL's rushing yards leader last season and earned Pro Bowl and First-Team All-Pro mentions.

He was also named the 2023 NFL Offensive Player of the Year. Don't look now, but a similar story is being written in Philadelphia.

They never give the MVP trophy to running backs.

When was the last time an NFL running back won the MVP trophy? Honestly, we thought Adrian Peterson had done so in 20212 but couldn't remember and had to look it up.

Yep! It was Adrian Peterson! You have to look back to 2006 (LaDanian Tomlinson) and 2005 (Shaun Alexander) to find the tailbacks who took the honor home before him.

The MVP trophy is given to quarterbacks. Everyone knows that which makes an OPOY nod the more realistic landing spot for Saquon Barkley.

As always, conversations like these come down to statistics.

An impressive stat line always helps in the race for an NFL OPOY Award, and Saquon doesn't disappoint. Through his first six Eagles games, he has notched 658 rushing yards and five TDs on 108 carries. He has collected another 103 yards and a receiving TD on 16 receptions.

We mentioned this could be one hell of a statistical season for him, didn't we?

Final thoughts: Here's a misconception. Players don't care about the individual honors. All they want to do is win. You've heard that before, right? We'd like to inform you that's a lie.

While it's true everyone would love to raise a Vince Lombardi Trophy during their careers, it's also true that players think of their legacies and perceptions all the time. Just ask that guy who thinks his speed rating on EA's Madden NFL game is too low.

Many of the legends in the Pro Football Hall of Fame never won Super Bowls. Ask them if they'd return their gold jacket, and see how they respond.

It's the individual effort and the resumes that these guys use to negotiate big deals to create financial security for themselves and their families. One of Saquon's most endearing traits is his humility. We've fallen in love with it, but if he stays healthy and is recognized postseason for his on-field achievements, you won't hear one peep out of us.

Read more Eagles news and notes