It’s time to revalue running backs after Saquon Barkley caps best rushing year with Super Bowl win
It’s time to revalue running backs after Saquon Barkley caps best rushing year with Super Bowl win
It’s time to revalue the devalued running back position in the NFL after Saquon Barkley’s mere presence, if not his production, helped the Philadelphia Eagles dismantle the Kansas City Chiefs in one of the most lopsided Super Bowls ever.
Barkley capped a great year for free-agent running backs by hoisting the Lombardi Trophy after the Eagles’ 40-22 dismantling of the Chiefs on Sunday that avenged a heartbreaking Super Bowl loss two years earlier and denied Patrick Mahomes & Co. an unprecedented third consecutive title and Pat Riley royalties for all that three-peat merchandise now headed for the dump.
Barkley, who had seven total touchdown runs of 60 yards or more in his first season with the Eagles, gained a modest 57 yards on 25 carries Sunday, and he gave props to Steve Spagnuolo’s defense for slowing him down.
Barkley’s biggest contribution, however, was in forcing the Chiefs to load the box with extra defenders, which freed up the likes of DeVonta Smith, A.J. Brown and Jahan Dotson to make crucial catches as Jalen Hurts threw just five incompletions while accounting for nearly 300 yards of offense and three touchdowns.
John Elway was blown out in his first three trips to the Super Bowl before capping his Hall of Fame playing career with back-to-back titles once fellow Hall of Famer Terrell Davis joined him in the Denver Broncos’ backfield.
“A great running back is a quarterback’s best friend,” Elway said more than once when looking back on his Super Bowl successes.
Speaking of Davis, by halftime Barkley surpassed Davis’ all-time rushing yards record in a season of 2,476 while becoming the first player to top 2,500 yards, counting playoffs.
Mahomes, meanwhile, sure could have used a good ground game Sunday.
Behind a spongy offensive line that left him battered, Mahomes handed off just seven times and the Chiefs, who had won 23 of their previous 25 games, trailed 34-0 before they ever crossed midfield.
Kareem Hunt gained 9 yards on three carries, Isiah Pacheco managed 7 yards on three carries and Samaje Perine reeled off an 8-yard gain on his only handoff.
Like Hurts, who led Philly with 72 yards on the ground, Mahomes was KC’s leading rusher, with 25 yards on four runs. The rest of the time, Mahomes was desperately trying to avoid the Eagles’ destructive four-man pass rush that sacked him six times, forced him into three turnovers and was so consistently effective that coordinator Vic Fangio never once had to dial up a blitz to rattle him.
Barkley’s 2,504 total yards rushing and 18 touchdown runs capped a big comeback for NFL running backs in a season that began with so many veterans switching jerseys and helping propel their new teams toward the playoffs.
Derrick Henry left Tennessee for Baltimore and rushed for 1,921 yards and an NFL-best 16 touchdowns, and he added 270 yards and three TDs in the playoffs.
Aaron Jones left Green Bay for rival Minnesota and set career highs with 255 carries for 1,138 yards to go with seven total touchdowns. The Packers replaced him with Josh Jacobs, who left Las Vegas for the green and gold and ran for 1,329 yards and a career-high 15 TDs.
Joe Mixon bolted the Bengals for the Texans and ran for 1,016 yards and 11 touchdowns, adding 194 yards and two scores in the playoffs.
None did better than Barkley, though, who won AP NFL Offensive Player of the Year and entered Sunday just 30 yards shy of topping Davis’ total set in 1998 when he helped the Broncos win their second straight Super Bowl.
Barkley’s seven touchdowns of 60-plus yards (that includes the postseason) were a record and he joined Davis as one of only two players in NFL history with at least 400 yards rushing and five touchdowns in a single postseason.
“It was a hell of a year,” Barkley said, “but all of the numbers and stats or records are cool, but the best thing is to be able to hold that Lombardi Trophy.”
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Behind the Call analyzes the biggest topics in the NFL during the season. More AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl
By ARNIE STAPLETON
AP Pro Football Writer
