Saquon Barkley has been a machine this year. He has rushed for 100+ yards in 11 of 16 games, including five with 150+ yards. One of those came this past Sunday, when Barkley went for 167 yards to push himself over the coveted 2,000-yard rushing threshold for the season. Saquon still has one more game and 101 yards to break Eric Dickerson’s single-season record, and Mike Golic thinks that should seal Barkley as the NFL MVP.
While speaking on his DraftKings show, GoJo and Golic, the former Eagles defensive tackle argued against the notion that Barkley’s accomplishment would be lessened because he did it in 17 games while Dickerson did it in 16.
Golic said that if he “had a vote” for NFL MVP this season, he would definitely give it to Saquon if he was able to break a record as impressive as Dickerson’s 2,105 single-season rush yards.
“If I had a vote, and he broke the record, I would give him the MVP. He needs 101 yards to break it. People will say, ‘He had an extra game over Eric Dickerson.’ If you look at the year, Dickerson set the record, he had 379 carries. Saquon Barkley has 345 carries. If he were to break the single-season rushing record, it’d probably be with fewer attempts!”
Does Saquon Barkley deserve to win the NFL MVP?
"If I had a vote and he broke the record, I would give him the MVP. He needs 101 yards to break it. People will say 'he had an extra game over Eric Dickerson.' If you look at the year, Dickerson set the record, he had 379 carries.… pic.twitter.com/IZlaJjdt55
— GoJo and Golic (@GoJoandGolic) December 30, 2024
Dickerson had an impressive 5.6 yards per carry in 1984, but Golic is right. While Barkley will have played more games, if he can maintain his 5.8 yards per carry mark, his campaign should still be viewed as more efficient than Dickerson’s.
Golic played for the Eagles during his NFL prime from 1987 to 1992, so there’s obviously a bit of bias here. However, in a perfect world, more people would think like Golic, rather than automatically creating a QB-only race for MVP. At this point, the award might as well be called the “Most Valuable QB” award. No need to pretend that record-breaking players at other positions, like Barkley, have a chance.
QBs have and will always (unfortunately) trump RBs in the MVP race
Some may think this is a new phenomenon. It’s not. Running backs used to win MVP a lot more often prior to 2010, it’s true. From 1997 to 2012, six RBs won the MVP. Since 2013, only QBs have won the award. Despite what seems like a changing of the guard, a great QB season has always trumped a great RB season. The man Barkley is chasing, Eric Dickerson, knows that better than anyone.
While Mike Golic believes Saquon Barkley should win the MVP for breaking Dickerson’s record in 17 games, Dickerson himself didn’t even win MVP in 1984 when he set the record. That year, it went to none other than Dan Marino. Let’s compare Marino in 1984 with Lamar Jackson this year and Dickerson in 1984 with Barkley this year to see if Barkley has a better case than Dickerson did 40 years ago.
In 1984, Dickerson had 379 carries for 2,105 yards and 14 rush TDs on 5.6 yards per carry. He also had 12 100-yard games and contributed 21 receptions for 139 receiving yards. His team went 10-6 and finished 2nd in the NFC West.
Barkley, meanwhile, has taken 345 carries for 2,005 yards and 13 rush TDs on 5.8 yards per carry. He has put up 11 100-yard games, but he has poured in a lot more through the air, catching 33 passes for 278 yards and two TDs. His team has locked up a 13-4 record at minimum and will win the NFC East.
In 1984, Dan Marino set new NFL records with 5,084 yards and 48 TD passes. His Dolphins went 14-2 and finished as the No. 1 seed in the NFL. This year, Lamar Jackson won’t set any NFL records, but he’s having an elite campaign. He’s likely to finish with around 900 rushing yards, over 4,000 passing yards, around 45 total TDs against just four INTs, and an insane 121.6 passer rating. However, his team is only 11-5 and likely to be the 3rd seed in the AFC.
Based on these numbers, it certainly seems like Saquon Barkley is making a stronger case for MVP than Dickerson—and that he’s going against a less impressive QB season.
There’s no guarantee the RB will play in Week 18, as the Eagles are pretty much locked into the No. 2 seed, but if he blows by that record, there’s no reason he shouldn’t be the MVP considering the competition. If he doesn’t, we’ll know for sure that the MVP has been taken over as an unofficial QB trophy.
The post Eagles Veteran Reasons Why Saquon Barkley Deserves the MVP, Even if He Breaks Eric Dickerson’s Record With One Extra Game appeared first on The SportsRush.
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