Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley made history with his performance on Sunday and made history again on Wednesday.
Barkley rushed for 255 yards against the Rams and added 47 receiving yards for a total of 302 yards from scrimmage, to propel the Eagles to a 37–20 victory over the Rams. The majority of his yards came from his two breakaway touchdown runs, the first from 70 yards and the second from 72 yards.
His 255 rushing yards broke the previous record, 217 yards, set by LeSean McCoy in the Eagles’ win over the Detroit Lions in 2013—the so-called “Blizzard Bowl.” It was the ninth-most rushing yards in a single game in NFL history. His 302 scrimmage yards also broke the previous record of 262 set by Duce Staley in the Eagles’ 2000 win over the Dallas Cowboys—the famous “Pickle Juice Game.” It was the tenth-most total yards in a single game in league history.
Three Eagles have won Player of the Week awards three times in a single season: Wide receiver and returner DeSean Jackson did it in 2009, running back Darren Sproles won in 2014, and kicker Jake Elliott won three times in 2023.
Barkley needs one more award to tie the NFL record for most awards in a single season: Tom Brady in 2009, Cam Newton in 2015, and Lamar Jackson in 2019 all claimed five Player of the Week awards. During his six years as a member of the New York Giants, Barkley claimed three Player of the Week awards in 2018, 2019, and 2022.
So far this year, Barkley has carried the ball 223 times for 1,392 yards and 10 touchdowns, averaging 6.2 yards per carry; he has also caught 27 passes for 257 yards and two touchdowns, for a total of 1,649 scrimmage yards. He leads the league in both. His outstanding performance has translated to him being a frontrunner for NFL Offensive Player of the Year according to Vegas Insider, a website that tracks the major sports books. Per Vegas Insider, Barkley is in third place for NFL MVP behind Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen and Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson.
Barkley credited the rest of the team with his success on Sunday.
“I can’t do it alone,” Barkley said via the Eagles’ official website. “I’m surrounded by great players. If you look at every single play that I made today, you see so many other players going above and beyond for me.”
“These guys here are amazing. They make my job easier,” he added. I’m probably going to get a lot of credit, and everyone’s going to say this and say that, but in reality, the beauty of this game—it’s a team game.”
Elsewhere in the NFL, the AFC Offensive Player of the Week went to Tua Tagovailoa, who completed 29 of 40 passes for 317 and four touchdowns to lead the Miami Dolphins to a 34–15 win over the New England Patriots. Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett won AFC Defensive Player of the Week after notching five tackles, three sacks, and a forced fumble in the Browns’ 24–19 win over the division rival Pittsburgh Steelers.
Meanwhile, Seattle Seahawks cornerback Coby Bryant won the NFC Defensive award for his 69-yard interception return for a touchdown to go with six tackles in the Seahawks’ 16–6 win over the division rival Arizona Cardinals. Dallas Cowboys returner KaVontae Turpin won the Special Teams award for the NFC with four kick returns for 179 yards, including a 99-yard touchdown against the rival Washington Commanders. And Denver Broncos kicker Wil Lutz made all of his 5 field goals in the Broncos’ 29–19 win over the Las Vegas Raiders to notch the AFC Special Teams award.
