The Running Back Rebirth Continues: Saquon Barkley Is Top Betting Choice Among Eagles To Win Super Bowl MVP
The running back Renaissance continues to Super Bowl 2025. Philadelphia Eagles RB Saquon Barkley has Philly's best odds to win Super Bowl MVP when he faces the reigning back-to-back champion Kansas City Chiefs at the Caesars Superdome February 9. Eagles QB Jalen Hurts is +375 and Barkley has +240 odds to win Super Bowl MVP at BetMGM.
This is the first time I remember a running back having better Super Bowl MVP odds than a quarterback. Granted, I wasn't betting on sports when the most recent running back won Super Bowl MVP, Denver Broncos Hall of Fame RB Terrell Davis, in 1997. Davis ran for 157 yards with 3 touchdowns in Denver's 31-24 win over the Green Bay Packers.
Barkley wasted away playing for the New York Giants for the first six years of his career. He had three 1,000-yard seasons and won the 2018 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year after getting picked second in that year's draft. So, as a lifelong New York Giants fan, a piece of me dies every time Barkley has a big game for the Eagles.
Giants owner John Mara summed it up perfectly when he told general manager Joe Schoen: "I'm going to have a tough time sleeping if Saquon goes to Philadelphia, I'll tell you that" on HBO's Hard Knocks. Mara knew what New York would lose if Barkley bounced: A generational game-breaker, held back by organizational malfeasance.
Well, Mara's worst nightmare came true when Barkley became the ninth player in NFL history to rush for more than 2,000 yards and is a 2024-25 NFL MVP finalist. In total, Barkley ran for 2,005 yards and should've, could've broken Eric Dickerson's single-season rushing record of 2,105 yards, but sat out Week 18 instead.
Philadelphia Eagles RB Saquon Barkley celebrates a touchdown against the Los Angeles Rams in the 2025 NFC divisional round game. (Photo credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images)
The former Penn State Nittany Lion has continued his dominance in these playoffs. Barkley has postseason highs in rushing yards (442) and rushing touchdowns (5). His 147.3 per-game rushing average in the playoffs is 22.0 yards higher than his regular-season average (125.3).
Given how much he means to Philly's offense, I'd rather bet Barkley to win Super Bowl 2025 at +240 odds than bet the Eagles +110 to upset the Chiefs. Firstly, there is so much hype around Barkley, and rightfully so. Also, we've seen cracks in Kansas City's rushing defense. Finally, Hurts has been far less consistent as a passer than Barkley as a runner.
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