Saquon Barkley has powered Eagles' turnaround with MVP-caliber season

The Philadelphia Eagles hadn't done much on offense through the first 2 ½ quarters on Thursday night. It was nothing but "tough sledding" in the words of their head coach. The upstart Washington Commanders had dragged them into a slog of a defensive game — one they didn't expect to be in.

That's when they put the ball and the game in the hands of their best player.

And that's when Saquon Barkley reminded everyone why he should be considered for NFL MVP.

Barkley did what he's been doing since the moment he signed that three-year, $37.75 million contract back in March — he started turning the Eagles' fortunes around. It started with a dump-off pass in the middle of the field, that he turned into a 43-yard gain to set up a field goal. And it didn't stop there. He rushed 11 times for 90 yards over the final 17 ½ minutes of the game, turning a game the Eagles almost lost into a near-rout.

He finished that 28-26 win with 146 rushing yards and two touchdowns, and 198 yards overall. It was his sixth 100-yard rushing game this season and fourth in the last five weeks. He leads the NFL in rushing with 1,137 yards through 10 games, which is 175 yards away from his career high in a full season. And though the Eagles don't use him as a receiver nearly as much as they should, his 9.1 yards per catch is the second-best average of his seven-year career.

"I knew the guy was a special player," left tackle Jordan Mailata said after Philly improved its record to 8-2. "The what-ifs, the possibilities of what he could do behind our offensive line, you don't really know what to expect until you see it, until he does something. But he's a special player, man."

Added right tackle Lane Johnson: "(Barkley) makes you look a lot better than maybe what you are."

All of that alone should be enough to vault the 27-year-old running back into contention in the MVP race, which presumably is a two-man battle at the moment between Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson and Bills quarterback Josh Allen. But if Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts is a contender — and the odds and pundits say he is — then Barkley absolutely deserves consideration.

Because as terrific as Hurts is playing right now, Barkley is what turned around this Eagles team.

That was always the plan when GM Howie Roseman bucked the league-wide trend and spent relatively big money on a running back who came with a lot of injury baggage and plenty of untapped potential. What Roseman saw during the 1-6 collapse that ruined Philly's 2023 season was a team that got away from what it did best. They were supposed to be a power team, leaning on their dominant offensive line and steamroller of a rushing attack. When they tried to be something else, they started to lose.

They even looked that way through the first four games of this season. New offensive coordinator Kellen Moore was putting too much on Hurts, relying on the passing attack too often, especially in key situations. It's why the offense looked erratic and out of sync, just like it did under old offensive coordinator Brian Johnson last year.

That's why, during the bye week, members of the Eagles offensive line knocked on Nick Sirianni's door and pleaded with him to remember who the Eagles really were.

[Related: The latest NFL MVP odds]

The results have been phenomenal. The Eagles haven't lost since. They're averaging 389.5 yards and 28.8 points per game during their six-game winning streak — up 24 yards and a touchdown per game from before their bye. And their rushing yards per game has jumped by almost 50, to an average of 199.7.

They recognized their strength. They remembered who their most dangerous player was.

"We're putting up a lot of rushing yards, gaining a lot of respect," Barkley said. "That's going to be a mindset for teams coming into the game: Make sure that we don't do that. Because when we get the running game going, it's kind of hard to beat our team."

But with Barkley, it's more than just numbers — though the 131 rushing yards he's averaging over the last five weeks is pretty impressive. Just the threat of a dynamic back like him keeps the defense guessing. It opens up running lanes for Hurts, who is still one of the best running quarterbacks in the league. It gives him space if he wants to pass to what might be the NFL's best receiving duo of A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith.

Because Barkley is the player defenses have to keep an eye on all game, knowing that even in a game like Thursday night when nothing was working for 2 ½ quarters, he is always a threat to break loose.

"I guess it does take time," Hurts said. "And when I say it takes time, it's always one play away. So it can be the first touch, the second touch, or the 10th touch, or the 25th touch, whatever it is. We just have to keep pressing."

"That's the beauty of football," Barkley added. "You can stop us for 20-something carries, but when you rip off two long ones when it matters most, the stats look pretty good and most times you get a win."

That "beauty" is, of course, in the eye of the beholder, and it's a sight Barkley rarely saw during his six years in New York. He was often battered behind what was too often the league's worst offensive line. Playing for the Giants, it was a miracle he was as productive as he was.

That's a big reason why their GM, Joe Schoen, chose not to re-sign him, even though Giants co-owner John Mara wanted Barkley back. Schoen knew that $26 million guaranteed would be wasted money on a luxury like Barkley, given all the other problems with his roster. He's also a believer in the conventional wisdom that it's not good value to make a big investment in any running back.

Roseman has never cared much for conventional wisdom anyway, but he could see what Barkley could do on his all-star team, behind one of the NFL's best lines, even with long-time center Jason Kelce now retired. D'Andre Swift was a nice running back for Philadelphia last season, but it took Barkley 10 games to eclipse the career-high 1,049 rushing yards Swift had in his full season with the Eagles. Barkley immediately raised the bar.

It's because Barkley is a special player, a special athlete and a special weapon. Roseman could see how he'd make the Eagles special again, too. And he has. His presence and production is just as responsible for this Eagles run as Hurts' play and the rejuvenated defense. And if he stays healthy — always a big "if" with Barkley — he'll be the player who keeps opposing coaches up at night in the playoffs. He's the one who makes the Eagles probably the only team in the NFC that really has a chance to compete with Detroit.

That all sure sounds like the definition of a Most Valuable Player, even though Barkley probably has no shot of actually winning the award. It's become an award for the best quarterback in the NFL over the last two decades. Quarterbacks have won it the last 11 times, and 16 of the last 17. Minnesota's Adrian Peterson was the last running back to win it, back in 2012, and he only beat Peyton Manning by 11 votes.

Barkley is more likely to battle Derrick Henry for the NFL's Offensive Player of the Year award, which is still a pretty impressive consolation prize. But given what he's done for the Eagles, how he's helped turn them into a dangerous, Super Bowl contender, he deserves more. Because he is the most valuable player on one of the best teams in the league.

And before it's over, it might be hard to truly find a more valuable player anywhere in the NFL than him.

Ralph Vacchiano is an NFL Reporter for FOX Sports. He spent the previous six years covering the Giants and Jets for SNY TV in New York, and before that, 16 years covering the Giants and the NFL for the New York Daily News. Follow him Twitter at @RalphVacchiano.