In one moment, Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts was every football fan in America. As Hurts listened to Sunday Night Football’s Melissa Stark reel off running back Saquon Barkley’s gaudy stats following a 37-20 road win over the Los Angeles Rams, Hurts began to laugh. Stark turned her microphone away from Barkley and back to Hurts. “What is it?” Stark asked. “What made you laugh?”
Hurts just smiled and shook his head after the Eagles’ seventh consecutive win improved their record to 9-2. “He’s a bad man,” Hurts said, gesturing toward Barkley, who set the Eagles’ single-game franchise record with 255 rushing yards on the way to 302 total yards from scrimmage and 2 touchdowns over 70 yards each. It was also the most rushing yards in an NFL game since Cleveland Browns running back Jerome Harrison rushed for 286 yards against the Kansas City Chiefs on December 20, 2009.
Hurts wasn’t the only one left shook by witnessing Barkley’s greatness in what now has the chance to be a year for the ages for the former No. 2 overall pick. Social media had its own, special 2009-ish sports meltdown where, for a few hours, everything faded away but Barkley and his greatness.
Barkley’s Big Moment Captivates Social Media
Social media users reacted swiftly to Barkley’s record-breaking game — a good portion of them taking shots at Barkley’s old team, the New York Giants, who lost him to the Eagles in free agency before the 2024 season with a 3-year, $37.75 million contract. For the Giants, the price for Barkley was deemed to be too high.
After a 30-7 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 12, the Giants are now 2-9 and have already jettisoned quarterback Daniel Jones, who was the No. 6 overall pick in the 2019 NFL draft and signed a 4-year, $160 million contract extension in March 2023. The Giants demoted Jones to fourth string after Week 11 and released him on November 22. Barkley was the No. 2 overall pick to the Giants in the 2018 NFL draft.
“Saquon Barkley today: 302 total yards, 2 TDs,” Fox Sports NFL insider Jordan Schultz wrote on his official X account. “Giants offense today: 245 total yards, 1 TD” One shot of Hurts smiling widely after one of Barkley’s touchdowns quickly became a meme.
No Running Back Has Won NFL MVP Since 2012
No running back has been named NFL MVP since Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson in 2012 — something “Good Morning Football” host Kyle Brandt opined should come to an end with Barkley winning it in 2024. Brandt’s worry was that Philadelphia’s patented “Tush Push” quarterback sneak led to too many short-yardage touchdowns for Hurts and in turn negatively impacted Barkley’s MVP candidacy.
“The Eagles tush push is going to stop Saquon Barkley from winning the MVP,” Brandt said before Week 12. “… He just needs bigger numbers, and they’re being taken from him. Not by opposing defenses. By his own offense. Four times this season Saquon has been tackled at the 1-yard line to set up 1st-and-goal at the 1 and four times Jalen Hurts pushed it in on the next play. Hurts also has 6 touchdowns total from inside the 2-yard line … He could have, he should have 16 touchdowns in 10 games … that’s better than (Christian) McCaffrey last year. That’s MVP stuff if the Eagles would let him win it.” Barkley didn’t need short-yardage runs to score touchdowns against the Rams. He reeled off touchdown runs of 70 and 72 yards in the second half and now has 12 touchdowns for the season.
