Saquon Barkley should be the NFL MVP.

Each week he just becomes more and more amazing. 

The standout running back finished with a career-high and franchise-record 255 rushing yards to go with two touchdowns to lead the Eagles to a 37-20 victory over Rams on Sunday night. He added 47 receiving yards in the win, totalling 302 yards from scrimmage, the ninth-most in league history. 

The Eagles (9-2) have now won seven straight games, their last loss coming in September, and added to their first-place lead in the NFC East after the Commanders lost to the Cowboys.

But right now, the focus is on Barkley. 

The league MVP award typically goes to quarterbacks, but this season has to be different. Sure, Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson are having stellar seasons, but Barkley is hands-down the MVP right now. I mean, where would the Eagles be without him? And that isn’t to say the rest of the team isn’t doing well, because the entire squad is. But Barkley is on another level right now.

Let’s just look at two plays from Sunday to sum up his greatness. 

Barkley opened the third quarter with a 70-yard rushing TD to give the Eagles a 20-7 lead. He then rushed for a 72-yard score in the fourth to make the lead 37-14. Both times he just shredded Rams’ defenders and found the open space that the Eagles’ stout offensive line gave him.  

He now has a career-high 1,392 rushing yards, with at least six games left (and hopefully more). As long as he stays healthy (knock on wood), he should be a serious MVP candidate. I do not care if he isn’t a quarterback. Right now, he is the most deserving. He is one of the best players in the league, not just on the Eagles. He is a huge reason for the Eagles success, and that is what an MVP does. He just continues to add to his argument for the league MVP award. 

Barkley and the rest of the Eagles rushing attack is unstoppable. Jalen Hurts added 39 rushing yards, Kenny Gainwelll 22. The rushing attack is simply phenomenal. Hurts only threw for 179 yards (and no turnovers!!) and many people out there might nor like those numbers, but when the Eagles are so efficient running the ball, Hurts doesn’t need to be throwing for 300 yards every game. And just because he didn’t, doesn’t mean he can’t. Hurts made some great throws to A.J. Brown, Barkley and Dallas goedert. Brown’s TD catch was a great throw from Hurts and an even better catch, getting those three steps in and completing the catch before dropping the ball. 

And another great player on the Eagles is Brandon Graham. 

B.G. will forever be immortalized as one of the greatest players in franchise history, especially with his strip-sack in the Super Bowl to help the Eagles win their first Lombardi Trophy.

And even at 36, he was having an amazing season. In the win over the Rams on Sunday, he had three quarterback hits, two tackles for loss, a sack and a pass breakup. 

But that could have been his last game.

Graham announced after the game he would miss the rest of the season with torn triceps. That was an absolute blow to any Eagles fan. Not just because he is a fan-favorite, but he was a force in these first 11 games. The Eagles are thin at edge rusher as it is with Bryce Huff on injury reserve for another few weeks. Nolan Smith and Josh Sweat have been good, but B.G. has been better. It’s a brutal loss. I felt a little sick seeing that news. Again, not because I love B.G., but because of his impact on and off the field. He is a true leader and strong presence in the locker room and on the field. It’s going to be very tough without him, but Vic Fangio has really seemed to make this unit locked in lately. So, the Eagles, hopefully, can still have a strong edge rush without him.

But speaking of the defense, they again played well.

In the beginning, it was a little scary. The Rams quickly went down the field, but Isaiah Rodgers forced a fumble and Nakobe Dean recovered it. That turnover led to a Jake Eliott field goal to give the Eagles an early 3-0 lead. Then the Rams drove right down the field again and Kryen Williams scored a 1-yard TD after a weak pass interference call on Darius Slay. But after that, the Rams punted three times to end the first half. After another horrendous pass interference call on what should have been a fourth down, the Rams scored in the third quarter to cut their deficit to 20-14. Take away those PI calls and the Rams could have had only seven points. And their last TD was in garbage time, so the Eagles did another great job defensively. The Rams only had 290 yards of total offense, and averaged 4.4 yards per play before that garbage-time drive. Matt Stafford was sacked five times, too, which was tied for the most times he was sacked this year. He was also sacked five times against the Cardinals in Week 2. Dean was efficient in the win, as well. He led with eight tackles and made a sack. It was good to see him continue to do in his first season as a starter. 

Cooper DeJean was again outstanding. He was guarding Cooper Kupp most of the night, and he only had 60 yards, 27 yards coming on that meaningless drive that led to his TD late in the game. Kupp, who is one of the top slot receivers in the NFL, averages about 80 yards per game. DeJean basically shut him down, like he has with other really good receivers this season. … and he is just a rookie. He has been amazing since Fangio inserted him in the starting lineup, which happened to be when the Eagles started their winning streak. The Eagles have not lost with DeJean in the starting lineup. 

Now, the Eagles will get ready for the Ravens. That game is going to be epic, and it could be very high scoring. The Eagles’ D has been outstanding, but Jackson and company is tough. It’ll be another huge test. The Eagles’ D could very well shut down the Ravens but, realistically, the Ravens will get their points. The difference is the Eagles have the better defense, so the Eagles’ should be able to pull out their eighth-straight win. I would love to see the Eagles slow down Jackson and Barkley goes off, again, making his MVP possibility  argument even more clear. But that is to be seen.

I just hope this is not like last year. As an overthinker, this is the point last season the Eagles fell apart. After 11 games, they sat at 10-1 and collapsed hard. Now this season, after 11 games, the Eagles sit at 9-2. I highly doubt they will collapse again, but right now they better stay focused and keep their eyes on the prize. .. a trip to New Orleans in February. And, right now, that is very possible.