"He's Done Enough" NFL Executives on Saquon Barkley's MVP Chances, Bears' Top Coaching Candidates Revealed | 4 Downs

Saquon's Surge Powers Eagles Past Ravens, Jayden Daniels Shines, Brian Flores' Vikings Defense Torpedo Kyler Murray and the Cardinals

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Josh Allen might be sitting at the head of the MVP table, but Sunday brought a rare spectacle: Lamar Jackson, Derrick Henry, and Saquon Barkley—three other frontrunners for the league’s top honor—colliding in a game with Super Bowl stakes on the menu.

More than just Jackson, Henry and Barkley, the Philadelphia Eagles and Baltimore Ravens have all the trappings of Super Bowl favorites from their respective conferences, and delivered the kind of game worthy of being played once more in February with the Vince Lombardi Trophy on the line.

The Eagles’ defense allowed nine points in the first quarter before holding Jackson, Henry, Zay Flowers, and the Ravens’ prolifically explosive offense to just 10 points the rest of the way in an emphatic 24-19 victory, flexing Philadelphia’s championship muscle.

Inside this column, sources around the league weigh in on the best fits to replace Matt Eberflus as the most consequential head coaching hire in Chicago Bears history, Russell Wilson’s resurgent season continues to power the Steelers, Leonard Williams puts the Seahawks on his back in his East Rutherford return, and much more.

As much as coordinator Vic Fangio’s No. 1 ranked defense has become the backbone of the Eagles’ surge through the second half of this season, Barkley is distancing himself from the other top contenders as the league’s MVP.

One week removed from posting 302 yards from scrimmage and two rushing touchdowns of 70-plus yards against the Rams, Barkley gashed the Ravens’ defense and bounced off two defenders en-route to a 25-yard touchdown run with 8:04 remaining to put a game that seemed to hinge on which offense’s playmaker could make the play, out of reach.

That playmaker was Barkley, who rushed for 67 yards, and a touchdown in the fourth quarter alone, helping extend Philadelphia’s winning streak to eight games.

Barkley really is the ultimate closer.

The former No. 2 overall pick in 2018, Barkley is almost solely responsible for the Eagles’ wins this season over the Green Bay Packers, in Brazil, the New Orleans Saints, the Washington Commanders, and Los Angeles Rams.

Stop me if you’ve heard this before, but a running back hasn’t won the MVP award since Adrian Peterson ran away with the honor in 2012, but Barkley is mounting a charge that could prove insurmountable for everyone not named Josh Allen.

Barkley rushed for 107 yards and a touchdown in the biggest game of the Eagles’ season while putting some distance between himself and Jackson, Henry, and maybe even Allen.

It was Barkley’s eighth 100-plus yard rushing game in an Eagles uniform and he extended his lead for the rushing crown by upping his season total to 1,499 yards.

After Sunday, Barkley is now 106 yards ahead of Henry for the NFL rushing crown.

Sunday, the Eagles largely stymied Henry, holding him to 82 rushing yards and while Jackson made some terrific highlight-reel worthy plays, but managed just 237 passing yards, two touchdowns, and 79 yards rushing.

So, it’s easy for me to sit here and tell you that Barkley is the clubhouse leader for MVP, but what do those inside the league feel about his chances of actually winning the award?

I posed the question to a half dozen current NFL executives, coaches, and scouts. Here are their answers:

“Saquon should win it. He changed that offense and that team. He’s been dominant all season.” - AFC Scouting Director

“Shaun Alexander won the MVP with the Seahawks, and as a running back, he can't carry Saquon's keys. I think it's a two-man race. Saquon and Josh Allen.” - NFC Personnel Executive

“I doubt he can win it, because it’s such an uphill battle for running backs, but he’s certainly in the mix.” - NFC Personnel Executive

“Yes. He’s done enough to win the award already.” - NFL Offensive Coordinator

“If nothing else, Saquon is going to get votes. That much I know for sure.” - NFL General Manager

“Saquon can for sure win it. It depends on this big dude from Buffalo, though.” - NFL Offensive Coordinator

Here are the biggest takeaways from a wildly competitive NFL weekend:

First Down: Chicago Bears’ Matt Eberflus Nightmare is Over, What Comes Next After Disastrous Exit?

Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Matt Eberflus’ final 24 hours as the Chicago Bears’ head coach was a masterclass of incompetence.

Beginning with the chaotic and confusing final 32 seconds of Chicago’s heartbreaking loss to the Detroit Lions on Thanksgiving where Eberflus somehow managed not to call a timeout to set up a Cairo Santos game-tying field goal try to send the game to overtime, to the Bears allowing him to step to a podium Friday to deliver his day-after press conference only to call him in for a meeting with H.R. hours later to fire him, Eberflus’ dismissal in a lot of ways embodies how far the Bears have fallen.

At the very least, Eberflus gets to toss the timeout he was carrying around in his back-pocket into the cardboard box of his belongings from his office inside Halas Hall.

And, so, a 14-32 nightmare in the Windy City is over with a new era poised to dawn.

Thanks to No. 1 overall pick Caleb Williams’ presence, who happens to show new signs of growth and development towards living up to his promise as a franchise quarterback, the Bears may be the most attractive destination for prospective head coaches in the months ahead.

So, who are the best fits, who would be the ideal candidate to shepherd Williams’ development? After all, nothing else matters for the Bears than setting Williams up in the best possible way for success. I posed those questions to several league sources familiar with the coaching market as well as the Bears’ situation in order to get a feel for the direction Chicago may wind up taking.