We’re now entering the home stretch of the 2024 NFL season. With 5 weeks less, two players have emerged from the pack as frontrunners for the MVP award. These players are Eagles’ running back, Saquon Barkley, and Bills’ quarterback, Josh Allen. Let’s break down each contender’s season, and determine who has the edge.
Josh Allen’s Season:
After 2 consecutive top-5 MVP finishes and 3 consecutive divisional-round exits, Josh Allen has had enough of falling short. Allen and the Bills’ offense came out of the gate smoking hot, scoring 37.3 points per game on their way to a 3W-0L start. However, they then faced their first two big challenges, games against the Baltimore Ravens and the Houston Texans. After Buffalo dropped both, a narrative about Buffalo being incapable of beating good teams began to grow. To squash said narrative, the Bills acquired wide receiver Amari Cooper from the Browns, to bolster their offense. After the Cooper trade, Buffalo’s offense went on a run, scoring 30 or more points in four straight games. Nonetheless, all four of those opponents were mediocre teams. The real test came in week 11 when the Bills hosted the undefeated Kansas City Chiefs. Josh Allen played a great game and capped it off with a heroic game-sealing touchdown run in the 4th quarter. By taking down the reigning Super Bowl champions 30-21, Allen and the Bills squashed the speculation regarding their inability to beat good teams and announced themselves as Super Bowl front-runners. Last night, on his way to leading the Bills to a 35-10 win over the 49ers, Josh Allen put up a historic performance. Allen became the first quarterback to ever throw for a touchdown, rush for a touchdown, and catch a touchdown all in the same game. It was an unforgettable performance.
Josh Allen has been unforgettable all season long. Allen has thrown for 2,691 yards, a TD-INT ratio of 20-5, and a passer rating of 100.3, while adding 334 yards and 6 touchdowns on the ground. He’s led Buffalo’s offense to a ridiculous 29.58 points per game and the second-best record in the AFC. It’s only a matter of time until Josh Allen overcomes the hump and takes down Mahomes in the playoffs. My best guess is that this is the year.
Saquon Barkley’s Season:
After 6 years with the New York Giants, Saquon Barkley turned around and stabbed Big Blue in the back by joining the Philadelphia Eagles. By signing a 3-year 38-million-dollar contract with Philadelphia, Saquon embraced the role of the villain.
Saquon’s season got off to an incredible start as he put up 132 yards and 3 scrimmage touchdowns in Philadelphia’s season-opening win over the Packers. Saquon continued to dominate in weeks 2 and 3 before his season took an odd turn in week 4. Through the first 3 games, Barkley received 24.3 touches per game and the Eagles’ offense averaged 23.3 points. In weeks 4 and 5, Barkley got 16 touches per game and the Eagles’ offense averaged 18 points. After struggling when not maximizing Saquon’s role, the Eagles identified the common denominator and began to feed their star back. Over their next two games, Philly gave the ball to Barkley 21 times per game, and their offense began to climb. Philadelphia’s week 9 matchup against the Jacksonville Jaguars was when something special started. Saquon went on one of the greatest 5-game stretches the NFL has ever seen. Over the past 5 games, Barkley has touched the ball 25.6 times per game and has made the most of those opportunities. He’s averaging 178.8 yards and 1.4 touchdowns in this 5-game span. During this wild run, the Eagles’ offense has put up 29.8 points per game. In addition, since they noticed that getting Saquon the ball is a good idea, the Eagles have been on an 8-game win streak.
Saquon Barkley is a game-changer out of the backfield. He’s currently on pace to break Eric Dickerson’s single-season record of 2,105 rushing yards. If it’s possible for a non-quarterback to win MVP in the modern quarterback-driven NFL, Saquon’s 2024 campaign has got to be it.
My Pick:
Around the time Barkley reached his agreement with the Eagles, I noticed an intriguing tendency. In Miles Sanders’ final season with the Eagles, he put up 1,347 scrimmage yards and 11 scrimmage touchdowns. Then, in his first season with the Panthers, Sanders put up 586 scrimmage yards and only a single touchdown. On the other hand, Miles’ replacement in Philly, D’Andre Swift showed almost a polar opposite transition. In Swift’s final season in Detroit, he put up 931 scrimmage yards. Then, in his lone season in Philadelphia, Swift put up a career-high 1,263 scrimmage yards. This tendency implies that playing for the Eagles inflates a running back’s production. Between their stellar offensive line and Jalen Hurts having nearly 4,000 career yards off of RPOs (Run-Pass Option), Philadelphia’s system makes a running back’s life easy. Since Saquon was already an elite running back, the result of putting him in the Eagles’ backfield shouldn’t be a surprise. While Saquon’s talent does add to the equation, the Eagles’ offense and running backs have been successful whether they’re named Saquon Barkley or not.
On the other hand, Josh Allen is the heart and soul of Buffalo’s offense. Buffalo has a defensive-minded head coach, Sean McDermott, and an offensive coordinator with an unimpressive resume, Joe Brady. Furthermore, their bell-cow running back, James Cook is 20th in the NFL in rushing yards. Nonetheless, Buffalo has the fourth-best scoring offense in the NFL. How is that possible? The answer is Josh Allen! Out of the Bills’ 43 touchdowns, 26 are courtesy of Josh Allen. Despite the poor conditions, Allen has put the team on his back and the S on his chest (Superman). While Barkley is arguably being carried by his environment, Allen is carrying the Bills’ entire 4-billion-dollar organization. In accordance, had the season ended today, Josh Allen would get my MVP vote.
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