At the end of each regular season he is individually honored – the supposedly best player of the season. In the NFL, this honor almost always goes to quarterbacks. But there have already been “exceptions” – including this year?
Playing the season of his life: Eagles newcomer Saquon Barkley (ex-Giant).
IMAGO/Icon Sportswire
While the New York Giants are having a season to forget, releasing their unconvincing and expensively paid quarterback Daniel Jones and receiving replacement man Tommy DeVito from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, former player Saquon Barkley is surfing the wave of euphoria.
The second overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft came to the Philadelphia Eagles from New York this offseason because the Giants no longer had the financial resources because of playmaker Jones, among other things. In the end, the direct and unwelcome NFC East competition from Philadelphia was awarded the contract – and now the Eagles, spearheaded by Barkley, have a fantastic 9-2 record.
The recent 37:20 defeat by the Los Angeles Rams, the playoff hopefuls, in the Sunday Night Game may once again have caused some New York Giants to shake their heads. Barkley, who is already having the best season of his career after just eleven games, ran for 255 yards in this game alone, also reached 47 yards as a receiver and topped it off with two touchdowns.
A kicker has already won MVP
Overall, the 27-year-old had 302 yards. For comparison: His former team only achieved 245 yards in the 7:30 loss against Tampa Bay – and that as a whole team.
It’s not for nothing that the shouts of “MVP!” are getting louder and louder from the stands. But can Barkley, who is undoubtedly one of the best players this regular season so far, really be named the NFL’s Most Valuable Player at the end of the day?
A quick look at history makes it immediately clear that this will be a difficult undertaking. Since 1957, the MVP election has been run primarily by the Associated Press (AP), the largest news and press agency in the world with headquarters in New York City. And since then, almost exclusively quarterbacks have been chosen – in the last eleven years alone, most recently Lamar Jackson from the Baltimore Ravens, who is also delivering this season and has the best cards again with others.
Is Barkley following Peterson?
Only a few running back greats like Browns legend Jim Brown (1957, 1958, 1965) or OJ Simpson (1973) were able to break through the quarterback phalanx. Meanwhile, there are almost no winners from other position groups – only defensive tackle Alan Page from the Minnesota Vikings in 1971, Washington kicker Mark Moseley in 1982 or linebacker icon Lawrence Taylor from the New York Giants in 1986.
The last non-playmaker to win the MVP award was the privately controversial Adrian Peterson, who ran for an impressive 2,097 yards and twelve touchdowns in 2012 and was last active in the league in 2021 for the Tennessee Titans and Seattle Seahawks. Mind you, at a time when a regular season only offered 16 games per team. Barkley, who currently has 1,392 yards and ten scores, has 17 games to increase his stats.
He’s having an MVP-like season so far.
Rams head coach Sean McVay on Eagles ace Saquon Barkley
A few established brands will certainly help to at least keep him in the draw with quarterback greats like Ravens star Jackson, Lions head Jared Goff and, above all, Bills leader Josh Allen. With his current game of over 300 total yards, Barkley is only one of twelve athletes in history to achieve this feat as a non-quarterback in a game.
Rams head coach Sean McVay praised the running back highly after his team’s defeat in Week 12: “He’s a dangerous runner like no other. He can exploit gaps, create and finish. That’s why he’s had an MVP so far. nice season.”
Barkley is on track for records
A season that could even set a new record: Eric Dickerson ran for 2,105 yards for the Rams in 1984 – the record to date. But if Barkley continues like this, the overbid would be possible. The Eagles star is currently on track for 2,151 yards. It’s just stupid: Even Dickerson’s fabulous performance back then wasn’t enough to win the MVP title, which went to defensive player Taylor from the New York Giants.
Barkley takes it calmly, he just enjoys the moment, currently with “MVP!” to be sung: “I love being part of this discussion. That’s cool. But if you tell me I’m going to have a year where I’m going to be MVP and not win the Super Bowl, then I’ll choose the latter.” Who would choose differently?
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