Should Saquon Barkley Win the Regular Season MVP Award?

Should Saquon Barkley be the regular-season MVP? It’s a moot point, considering MVP voting takes place right after the regular season ends and does not consider the playoffs. The winner is announced after the Super Bowl.

Saquon Barkley's Super Bowl Season – What it Means For The Hobby

THE 180 HURDLE??? DID SAQUON JUST INVENT THIS?!

📺: #JAXvsPHI on CBS/Paramount+
📱: https://t.co/waVpO8ZBqG pic.twitter.com/tYThjnbdgG
— NFL (@NFL) November 3, 2024

Can Saquon Barkley Change The Landscape Of Football Cards?

The season-long conversation centered on whether Lamar Jackson or Josh Allen should win the MVP. But playoff games have a way of revealing more than a regular season can. In this case, it’s that Barkley is one of the top five players in football, if not the very best.

It’s not like Barkley is thinking about individual awards just a few days before the biggest game of his career. But Barkley’s 2024 season has been one for the ages. It’s not just his stats. He had the season’s most memorable "MVP” moment when he hurdled backwards over a would-be tackler. It was one of those ‘Did you see that?!’ type of plays.

Saquon barkley leaps — Jan 26, 2025; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley (26) leaps with the ball against the Washington Commanders during the second half in the NFC Championship game at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images | Eric Hartline-Imagn Images

Adrian Peterson was the last running back to win the NFL MVP Award in 2012. He finished eight yards short of tying Eric Dickerson’s regular-season rushing record with 2,095 yards. Including receiving yards, Peterson finished with 2,314 yards from scrimmage in 16 games. Barkley finished with 2,283 yards from scrimmage in 16 games.

Barkley finished 100 yards from Dickerson’s regular-season rushing record with 2,005. He would’ve had the opportunity to break the record in a 17th game, but he sat out as the Eagles clinched the NFC’s No.1 seed the week before. Dickerson’s record has now stood for 40 years.

Saquon Barkley wore out the Commanders this year…in 3 games he rushed for 414 yards (6.9 avg) and 7 TDs!

He had 118 of the Eagles 🦅 229 yards and 3 of their 7 rush TDs in the NFC championship game. 🤯pic.twitter.com/pOLcNcUXSY
— Tim Micallef (@tim_micallef) January 26, 2025

While Barkley didn’t set the regular-season record, he has an opportunity to break Terrell Davis’ 1998 single-season rushing record of 2,476 yards, which includes playoffs. Barkley has 2,329 rushing yards, including two playoff games, putting him 148 rushing yards away from breaking the record.

Some detractors say that Barkley had someone just as good as him this season in Derrick Henry. Henry had 325 carries and 1,921 yards for 5.9 yards per carry. He also had 19 receptions for 193 yards. Barkley had 345 carries and 2,005 yards for 5.8 yards per carry and 33 receptions for 278 yards. Barkley was slightly better and played in one fewer game.

Saquon Barkley Prizm PSA 10 RC | Picture credited to Cardladder

My colleague Russ Gioseffi wrote an article a week ago about Barkley’s rookie cards rising in value. Prices for his 2018 Panini Prizm card had increased from $56 at the beginning of the season to $140 a week ago. Now, Barkley’s Prizm rookie card is selling for $155.

If Barkley helps the Eagles win Super Bowl LIX, expect all his cards to go up. But regardless of the outcome, we should all take a moment and realize that with one game left in the season, we were witness to one of the greatest ever seasons by a running back.