{"id":14166,"date":"2025-01-07T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-01-07T15:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/grumblingsmedia.com\/newgmweb\/?p=14166"},"modified":"2025-01-06T17:46:45","modified_gmt":"2025-01-06T22:46:45","slug":"why-philadelphia-eagles-saquon-barkley-deserves-the-2024-mvp","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/grumblingsmedia.com\/newgmweb\/why-philadelphia-eagles-saquon-barkley-deserves-the-2024-mvp\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Philadelphia Eagles&#8217; Saquon Barkley Deserves The 2024 MVP"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"575\" src=\"https:\/\/grumblingsmedia.com\/newgmweb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/saquon-1200x675-image-meme-1024x575.jpg\" alt=\"Saquon Barkley - The Only Choice - NFL MVP\" class=\"wp-image-14172\" srcset=\"https:\/\/grumblingsmedia.com\/newgmweb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/saquon-1200x675-image-meme-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/grumblingsmedia.com\/newgmweb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/saquon-1200x675-image-meme-1024x575.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/grumblingsmedia.com\/newgmweb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/saquon-1200x675-image-meme-768x431.jpg 768w, https:\/\/grumblingsmedia.com\/newgmweb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/saquon-1200x675-image-meme.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Philadelphia Eagles RB <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pro-football-reference.com\/players\/B\/BarkSa00.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Saquon Barkley<\/a> is your NFL MVP. Why? Well, only a handful of running backs in history have achieved <a href=\"https:\/\/www.profootballhof.com\/football-history\/2000-yard-rushers\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">2,000-plus-yard seasons<\/a>. Not only do you have to be durable, but you&#8217;ve also got to be elite. While there are more games for a player to tally this, the league is much more elite in talent, which brings physical pain and injuries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Saquon Barkley&#8217;s Achievements<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>We&#8217;re in a quarterback-driven league, and running backs aren&#8217;t utilized as they were in yesteryear, when a back could carry the team. Now, they&#8217;re more complementary to the quarterback position. That makes Barkley&#8217;s performance much more incredible. His play reminds this writer of old-school running backs, a throwback who blends the agility of Barry Sanders, the elusiveness of Gayle Sayers, and a touch of Earl Campbell&#8217;s power.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Saquon Barkley Comparison to Other Running Backs<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>No matter how great quarterbacks like the Buffalo Bills&#8217; Josh Allen, the Baltimore Ravens&#8217; Lamar Jackson, the Cincinnati Bengals&#8217; Joe Burrow, or the Minnesota Vikings&#8217; Sam Darnold have played \u2013 all at an elite level, they aren&#8217;t shattering sacred records.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Barkley&#8217;s 2K club members: <\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>O.J. Simpson<\/strong>\u00a0(1973) \u2013 2,003 yards<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Eric Dickerson<\/strong>\u00a0(1984) \u2013 2,105 yards<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Barry Sanders<\/strong>\u00a0(1997) \u2013 2,053 yards<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Terrell Davis<\/strong>\u00a0(1998) \u2013 2,008 yards<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Jamal Lewis<\/strong>\u00a0(2003) \u2013 2,066 yards<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Chris Johnson<\/strong>\u00a0(2009) \u2013 2,006 yards<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Adrian Peterson<\/strong>\u00a0(2012) \u2013 2,097 yards<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Derrick Henry<\/strong>\u00a0(2020) \u2013 2,027 yards<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Saquon Barkley<\/strong>\u00a0(2024) \u2013 2005 yards and still counting.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>It should be noted, OJ Simpson did it in 14 games, thus making his record the best of the best. Dickerson&#8217;s league leading single-season rushing record came in 16 games.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-video\"><video controls src=\"\" class=\"mcloud-attachment-14179\"><\/video><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Saquon Barkley and the MVP Voting Process<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Now, for some ugly truths. MVP voting often becomes more of a popularity contest or a politically correct choice than merit. Let me remind you of Hub Arkush, who this writer knows and admires. However, this writer was disappointed when Arkush spoke about not voting for Aaron Rodgers for non-football reasons. This is actually more the norm than not, as personal feelings influence what should be an objective, merit-based decision.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The MVP award should be about accomplishment, not popularity or personal biases. Barkley is part of an elite club with only nine members in a league that has existed for 104 years. That means there&#8217;s a new member every 12 years. On average, it takes over a decade before another player breaks the 2,000-rushing-yard barrier. There should be no doubt in anyone&#8217;s mind that Saquon Barkley is your NFL MVP!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There are your NFL game day takeaways for the Week 17 games. We\u2019ll conclude the week with thee Sunday games as they wrap up. Don\u2019t forget to check out our \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/grumblingsmedia.com\/newgmweb\/podcast-sub-category-listing\/?category=the-blindside-blitz\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Blindside Blitz<\/a>\u201d and \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/grumblingsmedia.com\/newgmweb\/podcast-sub-category-listing\/?category=points-on-the-board\">Points on the Board<\/a>\u201d podcasts. Where we discuss\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nfl.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">NFL\u00a0<\/a>game day issues and other sports making headlines.<a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fgrumblingsmedia.com%2Fnfl-game-day-takeaways-week-17-early-games-del-pilars-diatribes%2F\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=NFL%20Game%20Day%20Takeaways%3A%20Week%2017%20-%20Del%20Pilar%27s%20Diatribes&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fgrumblingsmedia.com%2Fnfl-game-day-takeaways-week-17-early-games-del-pilars-diatribes%2F\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/gab.com\/compose?url=https%3A%2F%2Fgrumblingsmedia.com%2Fnfl-game-day-takeaways-week-17-early-games-del-pilars-diatribes%2F&amp;text=NFL%20Game%20Day%20Takeaways%3A%20Week%2017%20-%20Del%20Pilar%27s%20Diatribes\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/gettr.com\/share?text=NFL%20Game%20Day%20Takeaways%3A%20Week%2017%20-%20Del%20Pilar%27s%20Diatribes&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fgrumblingsmedia.com%2Fnfl-game-day-takeaways-week-17-early-games-del-pilars-diatribes%2F\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/grumblingsmedia.com\/newgmweb\/nfl-game-day-takeaways-week-17-early-games-del-pilars-diatribes\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/sharing\/share-offsite\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fgrumblingsmedia.com%2Fnfl-game-day-takeaways-week-17-early-games-del-pilars-diatribes%2F\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/reddit.com\/submit?url=https%3A%2F%2Fgrumblingsmedia.com%2Fnfl-game-day-takeaways-week-17-early-games-del-pilars-diatribes%2F&amp;title=NFL%20Game%20Day%20Takeaways%3A%20Week%2017%20-%20Del%20Pilar%27s%20Diatribes\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/parler.com\/new-post?message=NFL%20Game%20Day%20Takeaways%3A%20Week%2017%20-%20Del%20Pilar%27s%20Diatribes&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fgrumblingsmedia.com%2Fnfl-game-day-takeaways-week-17-early-games-del-pilars-diatribes%2F\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/mail.live.com\/default.aspx?rru=compose?subject=NFL%20Game%20Day%20Takeaways%3A%20Week%2017%20-%20Del%20Pilar%27s%20Diatribes&amp;body=https%3A%2F%2Fgrumblingsmedia.com%2Fnfl-game-day-takeaways-week-17-early-games-del-pilars-diatribes%2F&amp;lc=1033&amp;id=64855&amp;mkt=en-us&amp;cbcxt=mai\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/grumblingsmedia.com\/newgmweb\/nfl-game-day-takeaways-week-17-early-games-del-pilars-diatribes\/\"><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.printfriendly.com\/print?url=https%3A%2F%2Fgrumblingsmedia.com%2Fnfl-game-day-takeaways-week-17-early-games-del-pilars-diatribes%2F&amp;partner=a2a\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/grumblingsmedia.com\/newgmweb\/nfl-game-day-takeaways-week-17-early-games-del-pilars-diatribes\/\"><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/grumblingsmedia.com\/newgmweb\/nfl-game-day-takeaways-week-17-early-games-del-pilars-diatribes\/\"><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Philadelphia Eagles RB Saquon Barkley is your NFL MVP. Why? Well, only a handful of running backs in history have [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":14172,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"disabled","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center 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