Is Saquon Barkley the Offensive Player of the Year?
New York Giants fans look away, stop reading, and maybe stop following the NFL together this season. You’d have to imagine owner John Mara and general manager Joe Schoen have.
A season of disappointment, again, after a losing run of eight games took them to 2-11 after 13 matches, Giants fans get to look across to their NFC East rivals, the Philadelphia Eagles, who through the same time were 11-2 and on a nine-match winning run, and one of the main reasons for this was Saquon Barkley.
Picked up as a free agent after he and the Giants couldn’t agree on contract terms, the Eagles have an Offensive Player of the Year candidate who will be key to their challenge for a Super Bowl this season.
With Saquon Barkley playing at this level, bettors are flocking to check out the NFL playoff odds, and many are feeling good about Philadelphia’s chances this season.
By the end of October, the Eagles were duking it out with the Washington Commanders for the top spot in the NFC East. But by the end of November, they had taken control of the division, and a lot of this was down to their star running back.
Barkley’s hot streak in November saw him named NFC Offensive Player of the Month thanks to 733 rushing yards, 894 total yards, and seven touchdowns. Across this time, from week 9 to 13, he only failed to find the end zone and did not reach 100 yards. That was against the Dallas Cowboys, but the bonus for Barkley was the first time he’d been on a winning side against the Cowboys.
His standout performance in November was the Week 12 win over the Los Angeles Rams, where Barkley put up 255 rushing yards, 302 total yards, and two touchdowns. The Eagles came out on top with a massive 37-20 win over the Rams, propelling them to the top of the NFC East.
Barkley has found full fitness and an offensive line, which allows him to destroy opposing defenses anywhere they go. His teammates were even heard commenting on his performances in that match against the Rams:
“You are already the best running back in the world. I think you’re the best player in the world,” Brown said in a clip by NFL Mic’d Up.
Midway through December, Saquon Barkey was the leading rusher in the NFL. With 1623 rushing yards from 266 attempts, he was a way ahead of second-placed Derrick Henry of the Baltimore Ravens, who was over 200 yards behind with his total of 1407 rushing yards from 240 attempts.
With six 40+ rushing yard attempts in that time, he is more than double the next consistent 40+ yard attempts, which were made by J.K. Dobbins of the Los Angeles Chargers and the aforementioned Derrick Henry, who both had three.
Barkley has also been breaking records throughout the season for the Eagles. When he reached his eighth game with 100+ rushing yards this season, it tied the most in a season in Philadelphia Eagles history since Wilbert Montgomery in 1981.
The running back also joined Hall of Famer Jim Brown as the only two players in NFL history to manage 1,400+ rushing yards, 6+ yards per carry, and 10 rushing touchdowns over their first 12 games of a season.
His performances for the Eagles have helped to raise his profile and slash his odds to make him one of the favorites for the Offensive Player of the Year award later this season.
One of the major obstacles to Barkley’s winning this individual honour is that most people find it hard to see past a quarterback. Luckily for Barkley and all other offense players, the NFL MVP award is now basically a quarterback award, giving votes to non-quarterbacks much more.
Derrick Henry will challenge him for the award from the same position, and should the two meet in the Super Bowl; this could split the votes between the two players.
Elsewhere, plenty of wide receivers have been lighting up the league and will feel they should be with a shout of claiming the award themselves. Ja’Marr Chase, CeeDee Lamb, and Amon-Ra St. Brown have been in excellent form. Chase, especially, had already racked up 15 touchdowns from his first 93 receptions over 1319 receiving yards; in mid-December, he had six more touchdowns than any other wide receiver in the league.
The Giants elected to pay quarterback Daniel Jones rather than keep hold of Saquon Barkley. They ended up releasing their $160 million quarterback, and the Eagles have a running back who could be the difference maker in getting them their first Super Bowl title since 2017.