Following a 255-yard, two touchdown performance against the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday Night Football a month ago, Saquon Barkley began receiving serious consideration in the 2024 NFL MVP race. The Philadelphia Eagles running back currently leads the NFL in carries and rushing yards, all while averaging 5.9 rushing yards per game.
Barkley has run for 1,688 yards this season, but former Eagles center Jason Kelce believes that Barkley will not win the MVP award without breaking the single-season rushing record.
"I don't think he gets MVP unless he breaks that record & I think that would be the one thing that would put him potentially in that conversation," Kelce said on SportsRadio 94WIP. "If he gets that record and the Eagles clinch the bye and the No. 1 seed ... I don't know how you don't give it him."
Kelce on Saquon for MVP:
— SPORTSRADIO 94WIP (@SportsRadioWIP) December 19, 2024
"I don't think he gets MVP unless he breaks that record & I think that would be the one thing that would put him potentially in that conversation...If he gets that record and #Eagles clinch the bye + 1 seed...I don't know how you don't give it him." https://t.co/XF1AHWKJ1R pic.twitter.com/TpfWI6Ja7R
The single-season rushing record has stood for 40 years, set when Pro Football Hall of Fame running back Eric Dickerson rushed for 2,105 yards in 1984, his second NFL season.
Barkley is 418 yards away from breaking Dickerson's record, and would need to average 139 yards over the final three games of the season to do so. This is far from out of reach for Barkley, who has averaged more than 140 yards per game over two separate three-game stretches this season.
However, Dickerson set the single-season rushing record in 16 games, not the 17-game season which Barkley currently plays in. For Barkley to break the record in 16 games, he would need to average 209 yards over the next two games.
"I really want them [the Eagles] to try and make an effort to get this record," Kelce said. "I think the rushing title record is the coolest record in the NFL ... I think it would just be really awesome for Philadelphia to have that record."
Several players have come close to Dickerson's record over the years. Adrian Peterson came the closest in 2012, but finished nine yards short of the record. Just four years ago, Derrick Henry rushed for 2,027 yards. Peterson was named the NFL MVP for his efforts that season, but Henry did not despite joining the exclusive 2,000-yard rushing club.
Even if Barkley does break the elusive record, he will still have to contend with Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen and Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson for MVP. Allen is currently the odds-on favorite to win the award, followed by Jackson. Barkley widely has the third-best odds to win MVP.
Along with breaking the record, Kelce believes that the Eagles clinching the No. 1 seed in the NFC would help Barkley's MVP case. The Eagles, Minnesota Vikings, and Detroit Lions are tied for the best record in the NFC at 12-2, but the Lions currently have the tiebreaker over both the Eagles and Vikings. If the Lions and Vikings lose one of their final three games, the Eagles could have a chance at snatching the top seed in the conference.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Jason Kelce Outlines 'One Thing' Saquon Barkley Must Accomplish to Win NFL MVP.
