Who was the last running back to win NFL MVP?

After recording two touchdowns and 302 scrimmage yards, Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley was cheered from the field with chants of ‘MVP! MVP!’ on Sunday evening.

The 27-year-old has been in incredible form this season, helping his team to a 9-2 record at the top of NFC East. His Sunday Night Football performance against the Los Angeles Rams will rank among his best of the year, running in two jaw-dropping 70-yard touchdowns in a 37-20 win.

“He’s a different type of player,” Rams linebacker Jared Verse told reporters after the game. “I’ve never seen a running back like that.”

Barkley’s 2024 performances have not only made good on the huge $38 million free agent deal that brought him to Philadelphia but also catapulted him into the MVP conversation. If he continues his current form, Saquon Barkley could be the first running back to be crowned MVP since Adrian Peterson for the Minnesota Vikings in 2012.

How many running backs have won NFL MVP?

Predictably, since the start of the Super Bowl era in 1967 the NFL MVP award has been dominated by quarterbacks. Lamar Jackson’s 2023 win made him the 11th consecutive QB to be named MVP, and the 43rd time that a quarterback has won the award.

Running backs have received that honour just 13 times, with the most recent going to Peterson. The only other running backs to win the award the century were Shaun Alexander (Seahawks, 2005) and LaDainian Tomlinson (Chargers, 2006).

But even after Barkley’s statement showing against the Rams, he is down the list in MVP favourites. Most bookmakers still have Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson and Jared Goff - all quarterbacks - ahead of him in the standings.

More importantly, however, the Eagles reiterated their Super Bowl credentials with an impressive Week 12 victory. For Barkley, the prospect of a championship is far more appealing than talk of individual accolades

He said: “It’s cool and all. But it’s a team sport. And if you told me I can have the year I’m having and win MVP but not win the Super Bowl, or I can have the year I’m having and not win MVP or Offensive Player of the Year and win the Super Bowl, I’m going to take the [second] one.”

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