Saquon Barkley wins Offensive Player of the Year

NEW ORLEANS – Was there any doubt?

Saquon Barkley was named the AP NFL Offensive Player of the Year at the NFL Honors ceremony on Thursday night in New Orleans. He is the first Eagle to capture the award.

“It’s an honor and privilege to be selected the (Offensive) Player of the Year,” Barkley said in a pre-recorded statement, electing to focus on preparing for Super Bowl LIX instead of attending the event in person. “I’d like to give thanks to God first. Without Him, none of this would be possible.

“I’d like to give thanks to my family, my fiancee, my children, my mom and dad, my brothers and sisters, thank you guys so much for (your) love and support throughout this journey. I’d like to thank the fans of Philadelphia for showing so much love to me and my family, especially being the newcomers.

“And last, but not least, I’d like to thank my teammates and coaches. ‘You can’t be great without the greatness of others,’ one of my favorite quotes, and you definitely can’t accomplish this without the big boys up front. So, thank you guys so much, again, like I said, it’s an honor and a privilege.

In his first year as an Eagle, Barkley became just the ninth player in NFL history to surpass 2,000 rushing yards in a single season, setting the franchise record in the process. His 2,005 rushing yards were the eighth most in a regular season in NFL history.

Barkley also led the league with a franchise-record 2,283 yards from scrimmage, which was a league-high 34.8 percent of the team’s output, while adding 15 total touchdowns.

Named the NFC Offensive Player of the Week four times during the regular season, the first-team All-Pro and Pro Bowl selection set the franchise’s single-game rushing record with 255 against the Los Angeles Rams.

2K SA saved his best for crunch time as he gained 1,245 rushing yards in the second half of games, the most by any NFL player since at least 1991. His second-half rushing yardage total alone would have ranked eighth in the league in total rushing yards.

One of the league’s most explosive players (an NFL-best 46 runs of 10-plus yards), Barkley authored one of the most athletic plays ever with the reverse hurdle in the win over the Jaguars.

The AP NFL Offensive Player of the Year Award is based on regular-season performance only, but his postseason numbers are well worth a mention.

With 30 rushing yards in the Super Bowl on Sunday, Barkley (currently at 2,447) will surpass Terrell Davis for the most in a single season, including playoffs. Barkley is just the second player in NFL history (Davis) with at least 400 rushing yards and five touchdowns in a single postseason.

Three of those touchdowns have been on rushing plays of 60 or more yards, setting an NFL ALL-TIME playoff record. Yes, Barkley has done in one postseason what no other player in league history has done in a career.