Saquon Barkley has entered the MVP chat.
As he ran off the SoFi Stadium field following Sunday night's 37-20 win over Los Angeles, the Philadelphia Eagles running back was showered with chants of "MVP" from the raucous road crowd. Barkley generated 255 rushing yards and two long second-half touchdowns, one of 70 yards and the capper a 72-yarder that silenced any thought of a Rams comeback. On the day, Barkley generated 302 scrimmage yards.
Barkley deflected the praise for his performance, noting the incredible blocking he's received.
"I can't do it alone. I'm surrounded by great players. If you look at every single play that I made today, you see so many other players going above and beyond for me," Barkley said, .
Sunday night's 255-yard rushing performance set a single-game Philly franchise record. It was the ninth-most rushing yards in a game in league history.
For the season, the new Eagle has generated 1,392 rushing yards through 11 games, putting him on pace for 2,151 rushing yards, which would blast past the famed 2,000-yard barrier and Eric Dickerson's single-season rushing record of 2,105.
Barkley's superlatives following Sunday's blastoff are extensive.
"Saquon has that ability to hit home runs, and so sometimes that's how it goes," Eagles coach Nick Sirianni said. "You get some short gain, short gain, short gain -- boom, home run. Saquon is that type of player, and our offensive line did a good job of handling the variations of the front."
Barkley inked a three-year, $38 million contract in Philly after six seasons with the New York Giants. He's always been one of the most dynamic backs in the league, but behind a dominant offensive line for the first time in his career, the back is soaring.
"To be honest, I'm not surprised," Barkley said. "I didn't know I would have this much success, (but) I'm thankful to be here. I'm thankful for the fresh start. A big reason why I wanted to come here (is) I felt like this is a spot where I could rewrite my story and show everyone the type of player that I feel like I can be and was meant to be, and it's working out right now."
With Philly nipping at the Detroit Lions' heels for the No. 1 seed in the NFC, there is zero question that Barkley has pushed his name into the MVP discussion. It remains an uphill battle. No running back has won the award since Adrian Peterson's 2,000-yard season in 2012, with 11 consecutive QBs taking home the honor. If he keeps up his pace, voters might have to end the streak. Not that any of that matters to Barkley.
"I love being in that conversation," he said. "It's cool and all, but it's a team sport. And if you told me I can have the year I'm having and win MVP but not win the Super Bowl, or I can have the year I'm having and not win MVP or Offensive Player of the Year and win the Super Bowl, I'm going to take the [second] one."
